“I was shocked with just how white it was there,” she said.

What a bunch of Hooha If a black family wants to buy an RV there is nothing stopping them. Demanding black representation at a corporate level won't change a thing. Do black families check the board of directors before buying anything? How many black members here?

bob213 wrote:
I don't believe that KOA cares in the least about equal opportunity for minority campers. I believe their only concern is how to tap into the minority recreational spending pool.

Where is there any hint of evidence that minorities have any less opportunity to camp than your basic caucasian? I have never heard of a park that turned away anyone due to ethnicity. KOA, being a business that makes more money when more people are camping, is of course interested in tapping into the recreational spending pool of everyone, minority or not.

One line in the article really caused me to wonder what problem the "Inclusion Summit" was looking to resolve: "But, more than 50% of new campers in recent years are non-white." Tell me again what the problem is?

sayoung wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

wanderingaimlessly wrote:
Whats beyond their comprehension is that the thing stopping more minorities from camping is that,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
They choose not to.
For some it may be economic, for a few others it's too close to things their families recently left behind, and for the majority, life with "all the modern conveniences" is preferable.

And you know that because you're a minority. Right? And heaven knows that's the way "they" like it.

I have 2 grandkids that have married Hispanics and I believe their spouses wouldn't go camping if I paid them. Both will tell you it's not their thing. They are both in early 20's so that might change. Not a scientific pole , just 2 minority's that don't like camping. Good grief, how many non minority don't like to camp, a lot.

I should have mentioned some of our grtgrandkids of Hispanic descent love to go with us on occasion.
Our normal CoE & Tx SP I see lots of minorities camping and I never gave a thought that it's a big deal. I just see campers having a good time. My wife is qtr Cherokee so I guess I have been camping with a minority since 1966

Both of my kids have introduced several friends to camping over the years. In my experience all kids are neutral at first, but like camping after trying it. They like playing with other kids, playing in the woods, playgrounds, lakes, staying up "late," fires, etc.

One of my youngest daughter's best friends is black (we are white.) We just took her on the first camping trip of her life a couple weeks ago (also her first time ever roasting marshmallows.) Like the other friends and cousins over the years, she had a blast and is excited to go again. She was not subconsciously programmed from birth to not like camping due to her skin color, she had simply not tried it before. She went from being totally neutral about camping to loving camping in about 12 hours. Her family has never gone and is still neutral.

I myself did not grow up camping with family. I began camping in tents as a teenager with friends. My first camping trip was with people that had done it before, and I loved it. We are now on our third RV in 23 years, so the industry has made some $ from me.

As was suggested earlier, I think this trade group should focus on getting new campers out as kids, in groups or however. Skin color should have nothing to do with it (because it has nothing to do with it.) I bet if you get a kid out camping one time that has never gone, and they have a good experience, odds are better than 50% that person camps as an adult (and takes their kids.)

Instead they want to make it into a PC contest. I already have Gillette commercials saying I should feel guilty for being a male, now I am supposed to feel guilty for camping while white. Literally no one I have ever camped with cares at all about anyone's skin color, ESPECIALLY not the kids on the playground having fun, eating smores, and making memories.

I don't believe that KOA cares in the least about equal opportunity for minority campers. I believe their only concern is how to tap into the minority recreational spending pool.

Exactly. That is similar to the California State Parks program.

I don't have any problem with the article. The solution, however, is much larger. It has to start at the juvenile age.

It is being instituted, in a very small way, near me.

I go camping quite often in the Okoboji Iowa area. There is a camp there that takes young people from at risk neighborhoods and takes them camping in a group camp type setting. They get consoling, taught education, people skills, and things like swimming. Some of them have never seen a lake or pool before and have no idea how to swim.

By the end of the camp they have having the time of their lives around the campfire and jumping into the lake.

(I tried to find the name of the place but, could not find it easily. They keep a low profile so as to not attract attention from the large quantity of biggets we have in this area. )

If you want to get more people of color in the RV hobby you have to get more of the youth out of town and into the outdoors to teach them how great the outdoors can be.

If you spent your whole life locked up in a small apartment in a big city and never saw anything else you would think that is the only way the world is .

Sorry if I didn't explain this very well.

You need to get kids out camping if you want them; as adults; to go out camping and buy RV's

lakeside013104 wrote:

Walaby wrote:
Well, I guess even RV.net is no longer color blind.

I do not care if you are red, yellow, green, purple, or any blend thereof... if you want to camp, go camp. If you don't want to camp, don't.

Is the next step quota's? Only "x" percentage of a campground can be occupied by a single ethnic group at any time? Affirmative action for RVers.

SMH in disgust.

Mike

Well said.

Doesn't matter what color your skin, we all have different interests. If EVERYONE liked to camp, there would be no sites left for anybody.

I personally have seen two seperate black families camping and I have traveled all over this great country and into Alaska several times. Different strokes for different folks. Best to leave this 'sleeping dog' alone, before it wakes up and 'bites'.

Lakeside

This has nothing to do with quotas. It is simply about tapping into an undeveloped market.

Why shouldn't the industry try to expand its market?

Terryallan wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
It's not as simple as "they don't want to go camping". Many people (of all backgrounds) have never experienced nature. They live in cities or suburbs and never range outside of that area, so they never learn what else is out there.

Ca!ifornia State Parks has a program to get kids from inner cities out camping. It has been ongoing for years and is considered an important and successful program.

There are PSAs sponsored by the National Forests, etc., encouraging families of all backgrounds to get out into the forests.

And yes, some folks worry about the reaction to their going camping. An ex-co-worker and his friends would go camping, but are concerned about the reaction when a group of male hispanics show up in a campground. Unfortunately, people are not always welcoming and are willing (even eager) to assume the worst.

In the end, yes, there is a disconnect between camping and minorities. If the industry sees an opportunity to bridge that then more power to them.

I have never understood the negativity towards attempts of inclusion. Inclusion is good.

The problem is artificial inclusion / favoring one over another / making it easier for one just to include them. that is wrong. I disagree with you on the want to. Truth is. If a person, no matter what Race, wants to camp, and have the ability to get the camping supplies. They will. It is pretty much, that simple.

Truth is. there are a lot of Hispanic campers, as there are a lot of Asian campers. Why? because they want to. But there aren't a lot of Black campers, some but not as many as others. Why? Because they don't want to.

There is no artificial inclusion here. As said above it is tapping into a new market.

As for folks camping if they want to, that assumes they know what camping is about and what it can offer. Many folks have never camped. They don't consider camping as a choice, because they don't realize that it can be what they want it to be and not what they see on TV. Offering ways to encourage folks to learn about camping is good.