Yusuf Burgess of Ed-Venture and Nature Network, center, is seen helping to plant forsythia in a new schoolyard garden on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, at Arbor Hill Elementary in Albany, N.Y. Photo by Cindy Schultz. Source: Stanforth, “Youth Leader Yusuf Burgess, 64.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the racial makeup of New York State’s population was 56% white in 2015, however Warren, Essex, and Hamilton counties—which lie almost entirely in the Adirondack Park—all have populations that are at least 90% white.[ref]http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI825215/36113,36041,36031,36[/ref]  It can be challenging for racially homogeneous Adirondack communities to promote a culture of inclusivity, but instances of racial discrimination like the ones Alvin Codner—a summer employee at an Adirondack summer camp—experienced in the summer of 2016 (see audio below) show how important it is to ensure that all visitors and residents feel welcome in the Adirondacks.  The Adirondack Diversity Advisory Council has promoted conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion in the Adirondacks since 2014, [ref] Adirondack Foundation, “A Conversation about Diversity.” [/ref] and Codner helped to organize [ref] Wikoff, “ON THE SCENE: Diversity Faces Challenges, Opportunities in Adirondacks.” [/ref] their 2016 symposium which brought guests including Aaron Mair—the President of the National Sierra Club—to discuss “the intersection of diversity, economics and social justice, and the vital way this intersection can make life better for everyone in the Adirondacks, visitors and residents alike,”. [ref] State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, “Symposium: Toward A More Diverse Adirondacks.” [/ref] Pete Nelson, who worked with Codner to organize the symposium, explained that they want people “to think about the challenges of making the Adirondacks welcoming and inclusive” and recognize that not everyone feels comfortable there. [ref] Wikoff, “ON THE SCENE: Diversity Faces Challenges, Opportunities in Adirondacks.” [/ref] At the Council’s 2014 symposium, Alice Green shared some striking comments she has heard through informal interviews around Albany: “No people of color there.”, “I’m fearful there. They look at you funny.”, “I have sons there and they’re in prison.”. [ref] Gibson, “Diversity is not Inclusion.” [/ref]

While these discussions are bringing important issues to a wide audience in the North Country, some people have worked for years to promote an inclusive culture in the Adirondacks. Brother Yusuf Burgess, for instance, who also spoke at the 2014 symposium, [ref] Adirondack Foundation, “A Conversation about Diversity.” [/ref] devoted himself to making the Adirondacks “a more inclusive, welcoming, and life-changing place for everyone.” [ref] Nelson, “Brother Yusuf Burgess.” [/ref] Through his work with his organization Youth Ed-Venture and Nature Network, he engaged inner-city children in outdoor recreation in the Adirondacks to cultivate a love for the wild, especially for kids who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to explore the Adirondacks. [ref] Stanforth, “Youth Leader Yusuf Burgess, 64.” [/ref]. Upon his unexpected death in 2014, Pete Nelson wrote that “he blazed a trail for those who would seek to make the Park a better place for all people as well as an irreplaceable part of life for many who might never have otherwise experienced it.” [ref] Nelson, “Brother Yusuf Burgess.” [/ref]