Writer, comedian, and TV host Baratunde Thurston reflects on his youth in Mount Pleasant, Washington DC. As a child Thurston developed a love for the outdoors from his mother Arnita Lorraine Thurston, who instilled in him a passion for fishing and hiking. She would often take him to places like Rock Creek Park, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. “The nation's capital is the site of much history that needs to be felt,” Thurston explains. “I was so privileged to have an adventurous mother who took me and my little friends on bike trips, hiking trips, fishing trips, and camping trips with almost no money. It was great.”
Thurston also delves into the complex and tortured relationship many Black and Indigenous folks have to the land. Colonization and slavery have deeply impacted generations, leaving many with the false belief that only certain people — namely white people — are passionate about the outdoors and can freely enjoy nature.
“The idea that the outdoors is a white place is so hilarious in the context of history.... Africans, who were brought here against their will, showed their owners how to grow rice [and] were trusted to tend to the land because the owners couldn't be bothered to do it.”
Thurston also explains why there’s such a misconception around the outdoors being a “white space:” “I think we could all take a breath, drop our shoulders, and enjoy the fact that everyone is deserving of and has an authentic connection to the outdoors. And if we don't feel it, it's not because it's some white people stuff, or it's not for us. It's probably because we're living in a story where we've been told that. We could try on a different one.”
Thurston explores the interconnectedness of all life, drawing from Indigenous worldviews and his own spiritual journey that emphasizes reclamation, healing, and living in harmony with nature and each other.
“Most spiritual traditions come down to some basic statement that we're all one. The indigenous folks, not just in the United States territory, [but] across the Americas and across the globe, have retained that core value, that core humility. We are here [as] an independent nation in part because we studied at the feet of interdependent nations who were here long before us.”
Baratunde Thurston, pictured here, says: “There's only so much learning that we can take in through our minds, our cognitive abilities, literacy, and literature. Sometimes we gotta put our body in a place and feel it.” Photo by Mathieu Young
Host and executive producer of the PBS TV series America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston. Photo by PBS.