Imagining the End of Racism through Summer Camps

Abstract

In response to worldwide protests for racial justice in 2020 and 2021, Dustin et al. (2021) called on recreation professionals to eradicate racial oppression. The focus of the present commentary is on the tools through which such an eradication might be carried out within summer camps. In particular, this essay builds on the work of Mariame Kaba (2020) and the generations of activists of color before her (e.g., Kelley, 2002) to assert that imagination is essential to any effort to end racism in summer camps. Three areas to which our imagination might be applied are presented: the benefits of summer camp, the shift from I to we, and the courage to experiment and fail.