A man in a Belize bar asked Frank Peterman if the old Western movies accurately depicted the Badlands and Grand Canyon. When Frank, who grew up in the United States, couldn’t tell him, he suggested to his wife, Audrey, that they take a two-month-long road trip across the country to see those places and others. That was in 1995. Decades later, the Petermans have become national park advocates.
With initial plans to open a bed-and-breakfast in Belize, now, Frank and Audrey Peterman are not only advocates, but are working to change the lack of diversity in national park visitors. According to an article from Environment & Energy Publshing, the Petermans noticed a gap in diversity partway through their initial road trip during a visit to Yellowstone National Park.
“We saw less than a handful of black people, no Hispanics, no Native Americans,” Audrey Peterman said. “I thought, ‘What is wrong with this picture?’ I was really affronted.”
In the late 1990s, they served as part of the launch committee for Mosaic in Motion, a series of conferences to bring “racially and ethnically diverse Americans together with public land managers…” This is just one of many other organizations and events they are committed to, according to their bio on the Sweet Auburn website.
“Sometimes, people in certain agencies have said, ‘It’s so hard to reach the people of color,'” Audrey Peterman said during an event in Washington, D.C. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, please, get over yourself.’ The level of difficulty extends to giving people the information, giving them an invitation and then letting them know what’s available. Then you see what happens.”
Read more about their journey on their website and check out a few of their books on Amazon.
BMWK– What are your experiences with national parks or even campgrounds? Is this something you are or would be interested in?
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