Trailblazers in Nature: Celebrating Black Pioneers Who Shaped Our Outdoor Legacy
At City Kids, we believe in the power of untold stories to inspire, educate, and transform. As we celebrate Black History Month, our staff has chosen to spotlight several remarkable Black pioneers whose contributions deserve greater recognition. These trailblazers challenged societal barriers, forged new paths in the outdoors, and demonstrated the kind of leadership and resilience we hope to instill in our young participants.
These extraordinary individuals embody the core values that drive our work at City Kids. Their stories remind us that the wilderness has always been a space where Black excellence thrived, even when those achievements went unrecorded in mainstream narratives. In sharing these lesser-known histories, we aim to show our participants that they are part of a rich legacy of Black outdoor leadership. These figures demonstrate that everyone deserves to feel at home in wild spaces and that connecting with nature can be a powerful tool for personal growth and community empowerment. Their examples continue to guide our mission of making outdoor experiences accessible to DC youth and fostering the next generation of diverse leaders.
Hattie Carthan (1900-1984): The Tree Lady of Brooklyn A transformative environmental activist in Brooklyn, Carthan responded to urban decay by organizing massive community tree-planting initiatives. In less than a decade, she led 100 block associations in planting over 1,500 trees throughout Bedford-Stuyvesant, one of America’s most heavily redlined communities. When asked why she stayed as others left, she powerfully stated, “We’ve already lost too many trees, houses, and people… your community—you owe something to it.”
Betty Reid Soskin (1921-Present): A Century of Breaking Barriers A remarkable figure who became America’s oldest park ranger at age 85, Betty Reid Soskin served as an educator and guide at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Monument until she was 100. While known for educating visitors about racial segregation in California’s history, Soskin was also a pioneering civil rights activist who, with her family, integrated an all-white San Francisco Bay Area town in the 1950s. A lesser-known facet of her legacy includes her talent as a singer-songwriter whose voice was compared to Billie Holiday. Her determination mirrors our commitment to empowering youth to find their own voices.
25th Infantry Bicycle Corps: The Original Park Rangers These pioneering servicemen played a crucial but often overlooked role in conservation history. About 500 Buffalo Soldiers were stationed throughout Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant parks, where they protected wildlife from poachers and constructed vital access routes. At Fort Missoula, they formed the country’s first bicycle corps under 2nd Lieutenant James A. Moss, bike-packing to care for the parks, showcasing their innovative spirit. Their legacy of environmental stewardship and public service continues to inspire our work today.
Additional trailblazers worth exploring include Robert Taylor, Arshay Cooper, Vincent Reed, Willie Bowen, and Leo Rodgers, each contributing their own unique chapter to our country’s rich history of Black excellence and activism. Their collective legacy reminds us that diversity in outdoor spaces isn’t just about representation—it’s about recognizing and celebrating the many ways different communities have always connected with and protected our natural world.
Your support helps City Kids continue this important legacy, creating opportunities for DC youth to discover their own connections to the outdoors and develop into leaders of their communities.
