"National parks, often romanticized as "America's Best Idea," are also one of its whitest.
The country's 419 national park sites largely focus on white American stories, host predominantly white visitors and are managed by one of the least diverse agencies in the federal government — the National Park Service.
After the killings of George Floyd and other African Americans sparked widespread protests about systemic racism, focus is also turning to equality in conservation, including whether agencies like the park service have addressed a diversity problem.
"I'll be very blunt about it: I think there are some institutional racism issues with all the land management agencies, including the park service," said Jonathan Jarvis, who served as NPS director under President Obama from 2009 to 2017."
Jeremy P. Jacobs and Rob Hotakainen report for Greenwire June 25, 2020.
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