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<h1>Video: Bringing Diversity to America’s National Parks</h1>

<div>  <div>  <div>  <p>Park Ranger Shelton Johnson has been telling the story of the Buffalo Soldier at Yosemite since 1998. In the late 1800s, these African American army regiments formed in the years after the Civil War and served as some of the park's first rangers.</p>  <p>But despite Johnson's familiarity with the story and the frequency with which he tells it to visitors at Yosemite, it is rare that he sees African Americans in his audience.</p>  <p>&ldquo;What is hardly ever brought up,&rdquo; Johnson observes, &ldquo;is how that incredible, intimate connection to nature, to the wilderness, was incrementally&nbsp;whittled&nbsp;away and broken down to the point where African Americans are now the one group least likely to have a wilderness experience&mdash;the one group least likely to have an experience with the natural world.&rdquo;</p>  <p>Follow the Los Angeles-based Amazing Grace 50+ Club as they rekindle their relationship to nature and to a history their ancestors may have played a role in.</p>  <p>&ldquo;The last act of the civil rights movement is this embrace of the earth, this embrace of the continent,&rdquo; Johnson says. &ldquo;If Martin Luther King were alive today, he would be first and foremost to say we as a people need to go to Yellowstone, we need to go to the Grand Canyon. Because if this is America's best idea and we played a role in this creation, how dare we not choose that for ourselves."</p>  <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="312" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/36258380" width="555"></iframe></p>  <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/36258380">The Way Home: Returning to the National Parks</a><span>, by the&nbsp;</span><a href="http://vimeo.com/npca">National Parks Conservation Association</a><span>.</span></p>  </div>  <!-- <img src="73c393a8b93c4f1c997f490e7f4fb96b"> --></div>  <!-- <p><b>Interested?</b></p> --></div>  <!-- <a href="resolveuid/255ae2edd17bc4232916e79632bcd457">Alice Walker: Go to the Places that Scare You<br></a>Why a life worth living is a life worth fighting for. --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/9fc616b7a2bf3f5cf3d26f0adc94490f">Vandana Shiva: Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Forest<br></a>Today, at a time of multiple crises, we need to move away from thinking of nature as dead matter to valuing her biodiversity, clean water, and seeds. For this, nature herself is the best teacher. --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/4ebdafd341e24d0ea63e08e9681dd745">To Follow in MLK&#8217;s Footsteps, Join the Fight against Foreclosure<br></a>How can today&#8217;s Civil Rights leaders follow in the tradition of MLK? Lester Spence argues that foreclosures are the issue and the church may just be the solution. -->

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2013/01/29/bringing-human-diversity-america-national-parks-yosemite">https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2013/01/29/bringing-human-diversity-america-national-parks-yosemite</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2013/01/29/bringing-human-diversity-america-national-parks-yosemite" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=13838&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

Video: Bringing Diversity to America’s National Parks

Park Ranger Shelton Johnson has been telling the story of the Buffalo Soldier at Yosemite since 1998. In the late 1800s, these African American army regiments formed in the years after the Civil War and served as some of the park's first rangers.  But despite Johnson's familiarity with the story and the frequency with which he tells it to visitors at Yosemite, it is rare that he sees African Americans in his audience.  “What is hardly ever brought up,” Johnson observes, “is how that incredible, intimate connection to nature, to the wilderness, was incrementally whittled away and broken down to the point where African Americans are now the one group least likely to have a wilderness experience—the one group least likely to have an experience with the natural world.”  Follow the Los Angeles-based Amazing Grace 50+ Club as they rekindle their relationship to nature and to a history their ancestors may have played a role in.  “The last act of the civil rights movement is this embrace of the earth, this embrace of the continent,” Johnson says. “If Martin Luther King were alive today, he would be first and foremost to say we as a people need to go to Yellowstone, we need to go to the Grand Canyon. Because if this is America's best idea and we played a role in this creation, how dare we not choose that for ourselves."    The Way Home: Returning to the National Parks, by the National Parks Conservation Association.

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