July 26th 2023.
The first hiking trail in Colorado dedicated to a Black person recently opened in O’ Fallon Park, following efforts led by several Black hiking groups to diversify the park. Winston K. Walker, who sadly passed away in 2019, is being memorialized due to the efforts of his protégé Jessica Newton, who heads Vibe Tribe Adventures, an organization devoted to creating diverse hiking groups that are traditionally underrepresented on hiking trails.
“Winston said to me, before he passed away, ‘Jess, I need to teach you everything I know about the outdoors,'” Newton recalled. “I think he knew he was getting sicker and sicker and I’m just grateful that he was able to be my mentor to actually help carry on the next generation to encourage the Black and Brown community to adventure.”
Walker is credited with exposing thousands of people to the Colorado Parks system and is the co-founder of the Beckwourth Mountain Club. He had a personal mission to assist as many women and people of color as he could in their endeavors to get into the wilderness.
Happy Haynes, director of Denver Parks and Recreation, told the Denver Gazette about the need for increased access to underserved groups in outdoor spaces. “It’s part of our birthright as Denverites to be part of this outdoor culture," Haynes said. “And yet we have people who live with this in their backyards and haven’t had this access.”
A 2020 study from North Carolina State University has identified a “nature gap” in outdoor spaces, which can be traced back to slavery and historic discrimination against Black people. The study revealed a lack of diversity and inclusion in nature spaces, which has kept many people of color away from outdoor activities.
The Sierra Club, an outdoor club founded by “the father of national parks” John Muir, has recently denounced its founder’s racism and the role it played in discouraging Black people from entering nature spaces and national parks.
“He made derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous peoples that drew on deeply harmful racist stereotypes, though his views evolved later in his life,” Micheal Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, wrote on its website in 2020. “As the most iconic figure in Sierra Club history, Muir’s words and actions carry an especially heavy weight. They continue to hurt and alienate Indigenous people and people of color.”
Winston K. Walker's legacy is living on through his protégé Jessica Newton and her organization Vibe Tribe Adventures. This organization is dedicated to creating diverse hiking groups that are traditionally underrepresented on hiking trails. Thanks to the efforts of these groups, the first hiking trail in Colorado has been dedicated to a Black person. It is a testament to the importance of creating access to outdoor activities for all, as part of our birthright as Denverites.
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