There's more than snow making winter sports so white. This UVM professor explored why.


Lilly St. Angelo, Burlington Free Press
Sat, February 19, 2022, 

The lack of diversity in outdoor recreation and fine arts can be obvious to the naked eye. Just 9.2% of people who participated in winter sports in 2019 and 2020 were Black, according to a Snowsports Industries America study.

But the reasons behind people of color not being in these spaces is less obvious.

Daniel H. Krymkowski, University of Vermont professor of sociology, recently released a book, "The Color of Culture," about why African Americans are underrepresented in activities including golf, hiking, hunting and fishing, water sports, winter sports, classical music, painting and sculpture, ballet and theater.

Spoiler alert: Krymkowski says it's because of systemic racism.

More specifically, Krymkowski explores in his book how underrepresentation is due to lack of opportunity, not a lack of desire from African Americans to participate in outdoor recreation and fine arts. The lack of opportunity stems from socio-economic differences along racial and ethnic lines as well as big and small acts of discrimination in the past and the present in outdoor and fine arts spaces.

Gondolas carry skiers and snowboarders Jan. 20, 2022 at Spruce Peak in Stowe

"The lack of opportunity to participate in such cultural forms deprives African Americans of aesthetic experiences that are central to the human condition, and it has implications for both health and the accumulation of cultural and social capital," the book description on its publishing site reads.

As many found solace and fun in the outdoors during the pandemic, an outsized proportion of the people who stayed more indoors than usual during the pandemic were people of color, according to a recent Penn State study.

More: More Americans than ever enjoying outdoor health benefits. But racial inequities persist.

Krymkowski also writes about efforts to increase African American representation in outdoor spaces and the fine arts and why this is beneficial.

One such group in Vermont is Unlikely Riders, a group of skiers and riders who encourage Black, indigenous and people of color to connect with nature through winter sports.

Their site reads: "Fostering outdoor play is our act of resistance."

Contact Urban Change Reporter Lilly St. Angelo at lstangelo@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lilly_st_ang

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UVM research: Why outdoor spaces and fine arts lack diversity