Discussing Identity, Equity, and Authenticity at Camp-Part 1
Throughout our conversations with camp professionals this summer, Lance and I heard echoes of the same desire: They wanted campers to truly feel and believe they can be their authentic selves at camp. They wanted every camper to feel seen, heard, valued, and loved. We appreciate hearing that shared goal from counselors across camp communities. We have also facilitated enough conversations to recognize that the subtext of those expressed desires is their own need to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging at camp. It is human nature to want to belong and to seek out safe spaces and places that allow us to embrace the fullness of ourselves. When we feel affirmed, it increases our capacity to do the same for others — we are able to learn with and from others, and we are able to respect and appreciate cultural commonalities and differences. This core belief is one of the reasons we embed self-exploration and personal identity development into all conversations about equity and belonging.
We are all experts of ourselves, our experiences, our perspectives, and our culture, but paradoxically, that can make us less self-aware and less attuned to the reasons why we think, act, and interpret the world a certain way. Indeed, as Zaretta Hammond (2015) reminds us, “culture is like the air we breathe, permeating all we do. And the hardest culture to examine is often our own, because it shapes our actions in ways that seem invisible and normal.”
This past summer, Lance and I spent considerable time helping others interrogate their beliefs and experiences. We participated alongside camp counselors to model the level of candor and vulnerability necessary to start unpacking strengths, areas of opportunity, and potential biases. We encouraged them to think about their own childhood experiences and their development as racialized human beings first. Then we asked them to delve into ways their camp communities might include elements of bias, privilege, and microaggressions that erode a sense of belonging. We organized the conversation this way intentionally, despite knowing some participants would be uncomfortable focusing on the individual cultures of campers and counselors, because it feels like doing so happens at the expense of the broader camp culture. We believe that healthy communities are collections of individuals with their own identities and experiences whose commonalities and differences have been validated and affirmed. Echoing American psychiatrist and writer M. Scott Peck (1998), “The key to community is the acceptance, in fact the celebration, of our individual and cultural differences.”
As we reflect on the lessons learned from discussing issues of identity with camp professionals, we suggest the following skills for developing more equitable communities where all staff and campers feel included in spaces where they want to belong.
Read the full text in Camping Magazine with suggestions for how to emphasize the importance of embedding identity work and self-awareness in your quest to create inclusive communities where everyone feels a sense of belonging!