#BlackLivesMatter

#BlackLivesMatter, #ORSummer, Diversity, Outdoor Retailer, Outside Magazine / 31.07.2018

  On Day Zero of the 2018 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market I strolled around the Colorado Convention Center. As exhibitors set up their booths in advance of the four-day trade show I began plotting a course of travel to traverse a path from one end the sprawling structure to the other. As I made my way to the front of the building I was excited to see a crew of familiar faces. My friend Rue Mapp had just arrived with a few leaders of her empowerment group known as...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Environmental Justice, featured, Interview, Podcast, TED, Walking / 16.04.2018

   Hey everybody! Yeah I know it’s been way too long since the last edition of the Joy Trip Project podcast. As it happens I’ve been crazy busy traveling, writing and yes conducting interviews. But most of the audio I’ve been recording over the last several months has been going toward a series of profiles for Outside Magazine. Check out the May 2018 cover story, which I wrote, called “The New Faces of Adventure”. This wonderful spread edited by Michael Roberts with photographs by Joao Canziani features 12 emerging...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Commentary / 17.10.2017

As I walked to the coffee shop this morning I noticed a neighbor rolling out an American flag. He was no one I recognized, perhaps he’s new. But with all due respect I made eye contact with a smile. I gave him a friendly nod and said, “good morning”. He seemed to return my greeting with a note of caution and a mumbled “morning”, like a man anticipating an unwelcome confrontation. Without breaking stride I just kept walking and went about my business. As a journalist it’s my job...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Commentary, Diversity, Essays, Guest Contributor, National Parks / 07.03.2017

Like much of modern America I was appalled by a seemingly innocuous line in a recent speech by the newly appointed Department of Housing and Urban Development Director Dr. Benjamin Carson. On his first day in office he addressed staff members with a lecture on the virtues of hard work and dedication in the pursuit of the American dream. With great reverence paid to the contributions of immigrants he particularly pointed out the efforts those forcibly brought to this country against their will. “That’s what America is about,” Carson...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Capitol Christmas Tree, Commentary, Destinations, Diversity / 29.11.2016

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n a brisk afternoon in late November I walked from the United States Capitol Building to the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History & Culture in Washington D.C. My legs were a bit sore having already spent a long morning on my feet taking pictures of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Just arrived from its home in the Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho the People’s Tree had made a long journey of more than 3,800 miles over four weeks of travel to receive a hero’s welcome from a...

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#BlackLivesMatter, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Madison, New Century Vision / 11.07.2016

My wife Shamane and I enjoy an early morning ritual. Three days a week at 5:45 AM we venture out on to Madison’s Lake Monona to swim. To be more accurate, she swims while I pace stroke a few miles on a standup paddle board. In the hopes of keeping her safe in the choppy waters of this urban lake I provide just a bit of security as we both embrace the grateful privilege of beginning our day together with much needed exercise. I watch out for the...

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