We Need To Call Out Rural Racism. Nature Is For Everyone To Enjoy
This story is part of Black Ballad’s takeover of HuffPost UK, a week-long series by Black women on parenting, family, and our post-Covid future.
We’ve learned many lessons from the pandemic, but the two that stand out for me are intrinsically linked: the need for us to connect with nature, and the fact the inequalities in our country, particularly around race and class, can no longer be ignored.
During the surreal time where we were confined to our homes, our thirst for the outdoors was heightened. Of course, we’d enjoyed it before this, but suddenly the need for greenery and fresh air felt urgent. I was one of the lucky ones: living in the south west, I could walk down my road and be in fields within minutes. I was grateful my children and grandchildren also live here; I’d often think of families cooped up in city flats for months, of the children unable to run around outside.
We all know nature is good for our mental health, and especially in times of uncertainty. My favourite memories from a difficult youth are of being by in the Devon countryside. Being in those vast, beautiful spaces helped me feel grounded. For a mixed-race young person, whose face looked ‘wrong’ against a rural backdrop, this connection with self and land was vital. Later, I spent time in the countryside with my children, and then with my grandchildren.
Now, more than ever before, it’s important for children from all backgrounds to access nature.
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At first it seemed we were all affected by the pandemic equally, but it was soon apparent that we weren’t. Class and ethnicity played a huge part in our differing experiences, and the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer woke more people up to inequality. The Black Lives Matter movement rippled across the globe, into the UK and the English countryside,...
