American Landscapes, Past and Future

We were thrilled to receive, after much anticipation, Audrey and Frank Peterman’s (2007 alumni) book about our national parks, Legacy on the Land. This is no usual book on the national parks, yet it should be required reading for every park ranger and sold in every park gift store. Frank and Audrey Peterman sold nearly everything they owned and left home to explore the natural wonders of America, many of which they had never seen. But their journey was more than personal. They wanted “to bridge the physical and psychological gap between the great outdoors and African Americans in particular, thereby contributing to the improvement of each.” Although Frank and Audrey fill many pages with their astonishment and delight in the grandeur and beauty of the landscapes they see and the joy of camping along the way, the journey was not easy. As they got more and more involved in environmental issues – in particular the restoration of the Everglades and the impact that would have on surrounding communities – they heard repeatedly things like ‘people of color have no interest in the environment’ because they ‘have so many other survival issues to contend with.’ This only motivated them to do more to correct this perception among whites, as well as heal the path for blacks to claim these landscapes as their own. One of the ways they do this is by telling the stories of the contributions and relationships of people of color to the building, creating, and maintaining of our national parks. In their words, “Besides the incredible natural beauty that we were finding in the park system, we started learning amazing stories about the history of people of color that are not found in the history books or taught in school systems. We came to the realization that the park system is a repository of the American experience, and many of the places it protects are the site of pivotal incidents in the development of our country. Since people of color were integrally involved in building America, it follows that our history is interwoven within the parks.” (To order Legacy on the Land, go to www.legacyontheland.com)

The Journal is published by the Center for Whole Communities.