Navigating Recreation While Black: A Conversation with Stephen Murrell and Aliyah Parris
For as long as I can remember I’ve always had an affinity for the outdoors. My love for exploring came at a very early age; I’d say it was around the age of four. I was deeply interested in the world around me, how it functioned, and I was determined to become a part of it. I can recall asking my parents for a bicycle that fall so I could ride around my neighborhood and see life beyond my street—with supervision of course! Both of my parents made sure I could always go for a bike ride around the neighborhood as long as they were present. They didn’t care that we lived in a nice neighborhood in Central New Jersey; if neither one of them was available to ride with me, I wasn’t going anywhere no matter how many times I asked.
After about a month or so of riding around my neighborhood, I soon became bored with my scenery and asked if we could move to the local park. I’d visited the park to play on the playground and hang out with friends, but this was always in an area designated just for children. Thankfully my parents were open to the idea of letting me ride around the park beyond the playground, now this really opened my eyes—big time. Although I was only four years old, I was pretty good at riding my bike and was truly fascinated by everything that surrounded me, this was my chance at exploring new horizons and I couldn’t be happier.
Luckily, I grew up in a very diverse town, so riding around the park and my neighborhood was like visiting the United Nations. I was constantly surrounded by people of different races and cultures and had the opportunity to learn from them and embrace them. I’ve had the privilege in celebrating a few Hanukkah’s, Eid’s, and Diwali’s with friends and neighbors. I truly can say that growing up in my suburban town really shaped and molded my view on the world, and I am forever grateful for that. Unfortunately, I know that not everyone was awarded the same luxury as me growing up. I am fully aware that some people grow up in neighborhoods with people who look like each other—and who do not look like me. It wasn’t until I was much older and realized that my town was an anomaly and that not all towns are as diverse as mine.
Four years later, I’m now eight years old and joined the Girl Scouts. My excitement could not be contained! Before joining the Girl Scouts all I knew about scouting was what I saw on TV, which included an annual camping trip and selling cookies and candy to raise money for the troop. Once I got involved in the Girl Scouts and learned what it was really about, I discovered it wasn’t too far off from what I'd seen on TV. I was super excited to finally become a Girl Scout because I knew I was going to be able to explore the outdoors even more. I loved being a Girl Scout, but there was one thing that I couldn’t help but notice, I was the only black girl in my troop and being the only black girl in my troop meant being the only black girl on trips slowly became my new normal.
Despite being the only one in my troop, I never felt as though I faced any overt racism. Covert racism, on the other hand, I noticed every now and then, not just by other Girl Scouts, but sometimes by counselors and group leaders at Girl Scout camp as well. Occasionally, I’d experience questions like, “Hey! can I touch your hair?”, “Is ALL of that really your hair?”, “Are you REALLY sure you can swim?”, and countless comments I’m tired of repeating. I thought that once I got older and continued to move up the ranks in Girl Scouts that some of these remarks would cease to exist, but I was wrong. I grew to interpret these comments as ignorance and was grateful to have a troop leader that would stand up for me and reprimand other scouts that would make such remarks at me in her presence.
At the age of 26 I can honestly say that I haven’t seen much change in the outdoor space. Although I can say that I'm thrilled by the increase in people of color I see in the outdoor space, I find that when I go for bike rides on my local trail there still aren’t many people who look like me. My local trail is still pretty homogenous, and I’ve found that other trails in Central Jersey haven’t changed much either. While I have certainly experienced less-than-pleasant interactions with people while taking breaks during my rides, I’ve never really taken any of the comments to heart. Of course, I’m not the only person who’s experienced covert and overt racism while moving through spaces that typically aren’t associated with the inclusion of people of color. In order to get a broader perspective, I reached out to Stephen Murrell and Aliyah Parris both of whom spend quite a bit of time outdoors for work and for play and understand what it’s like being a Black person in outdoor recreational spaces.
𓆸 Hi Stephen and Aliyah thank you so much for taking time to talk with me today. Now I know you spend quite a bit of time outdoors and in the gym, but do you mind telling everyone exactly what you do?
Stephen Murrell: “I’m a 67 year old retired corrections officer who’s been active my whole life. I grew up in the Bronx, NY and played basketball for as long as I can remember. Cycling is my strength and my joy. I do it for endurance and to prove to myself that no matter what age I am I can continue to push myself to get better everyday. Fishing and hunting are also two other hobbies that I am passionate about. Hunting is definitely not something you do growing up in the city, the whole aspect of owning a gun for hunting in New York City was unheard of back in my day. Fishing, specifically saltwater fishing, is a little bit more of a challenge than fresh water fishing and that’s something I’ve always enjoyed. I like a challenge. Fishing also made it easy for me to meet new people and go to places I’ve never been before. In my younger days I was also an avid runner, but you know as you get older your knees aren’t as good as they used to be. I’ve had a knee replacement so I’ve found that cycling is a lot easier on the knees for me.”
Aliya Parris: “I’m a 26 year old former strength and condition coach who currently resides in Central Jersey. I studied at Syracuse University and was a member of the 2016 Women’s basketball team as a walk-on. I received my Master’s Degree in Sports Management from Temple University, and that pretty much started my strength and conditioning career. I also had a short stint as a strength and conditioning coach at Old Dominion University as well.”
𓆸 What was your first introduction to cycling, hunting, fishing, and strength and conditioning, and what made you want to pursue this as a career/hobby?
SM: “My first intro to cycling was around 8 or 10 I can’t really remember. My uncle got me a bike and I was hooked. I’d ride up and down my street in the Bronx and sometimes to the park with some friends. Bikes were pretty common back in my day, it was one of the most reliable forms of transportation for young kids. I eventually moved up to a 3 speed bike, you know the ones you probably see in vintage shops now *laughs out loud*, the gear shifters were right on the handlebars and looked like stems.This bike was built for longer distances. At this point I was a teenager and needed to get around the City to get to basketball games and to hang out with my friends. Let me not forget about Central Park either, I met a really great group of guys that taught me about long distance cycling, every now and then we’d meet up and do loops around the park and the city. I really believe cycling has something to offer for everyone regardless of where you live (city, country, suburbs). The best part in my opinion has to be the scenery. I mainly ride by myself because I like being able to go at my own pace, sometimes you just want to take it slow and not have to worry about a group.
It’s funny that you ask about how I started fishing! Actually an old girlfriend’s brother invited me to go fishing and I was hooked, no pun intended. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had a lot of fun. I remember I had beginner's luck and caught a double (catching two fish on a single hook). I’ll also add that I used to ski back in the day as well and I was pretty good at that as well.”
AP: “Honestly I became interested in strength and conditioning in high school right after I tore my ACL playing basketball. I had this really great trainer who really pushed me to get better and stronger everyday. I think he really motivated me to be the best version of myself and that really stuck with me.”
𓆸 I’ve known you both for quite some time and I had no idea how you got into these hobbies/career, this really is enlightening! Around the time you two get started with your chosen hobbies/career, and did you notice that you were the only person of color participating in your hobby or while at your job? If so, how did that make you feel?
AP: “Oh for sure, I definitely noticed it in college specifically at Temple and while working at my former gym. At the gym I wasn’t the only woman but I was definitely the only black person who worked there. I’ve had two encounters at the gym that really stick out to me. There was one time where I was training a small group in the morning. I was notorious for changing songs that I didn’t really like and one song came on and one of the guys in the group told the group that this song reminded him of the Confederate Flag some other things I thankfully don’t remember. I immediately changed the song and told him his comments made me feel uncomfortable and he apologized in a backhanded way and proceeded to send me an article about how black people still use the N-word. The next incident was when a white guy was working out while Tupac or Biggie was playing in the gym and I heard him say the N-word out loud as he sang the lyrics to the song. I literally pulled him aside and told him that while I was in the gym that word is not to be used. I walked away and told him we’re going to act like this never happened. He apologized and I went on about my day.”
SM: “Of course! Making the move to where I live in Upstate New York it was very obvious. The first time I went skiing I was the only Black person on the slopes, it didn’t bother me at all either. I was there to hangout with friends and have a good time and that’s exactly what I did. I eventually kept going and got better with practice. I definitely found fishing to be more inclusive. I noticed all races go fishing and it’s not just white folks. I’ve fished with just about everyone, Black, White, Hispanic/Latin, and Asians. Fishing is fun and another sport that can be done by yourself or with a group of people, it all just depends on what you prefer.”
𓆸 Again wow, I really did not know this about you and the adversity that you faced early on in your career Aliyah, and thanks for sharing Stephen! I definitely wasn’t expecting that from either of you. With that being said, did you feel as though you faced overt/covert racism while in your hobby/career? If so, what did you do to combat it?
SM: “I never felt cyclists discriminated against me for any reason. All of the bikers were very open to me being a part of their community. Skiing seemed more insular but I never heard anything negative directed at me while on the slopes. Hunting is like cycling, another welcoming community where I didn’t experience any discrimination. I don’t see it as a color thing, I think if you like to fish you’ll go out there and fish, same for hunting and cycling. It’s a general liking of the sport,I feel as though if you see a guy fishing, hunting, cycling or even skiing you’re not going to bother them because of the color of their skin. You’re most likely going to exchange hello’s and then you’re minding your own business for however long you're out there. Now that I think about it, when I first moved Upstate there was this one time while I was cycling a group of teens in a car yelled ‘Ni**er get off of the road.’ I wasn’t scared, I just knew they were a bunch of knucklehead kids who had nothing better to do.”
