MELANIN BASE CAMP

Summer is here and prices couldn’t be higher! Recession indicators are everywhere, federal student loan repayments are back on and rent is rising in major cities across the U.S. But you don’t want to spend all your time at home either. Here are eight ways to get outside for free (or close enough) while making friends, building community and learning new hobbies. Let’s go!

But then life happened; friends moved away and group chats gradually went silent. Some of us outgrew friendships—or worse—found ourselves on opposite sides of important human rights issues. So here we are, in our thirties, feeling lonely and slightly embarrassed. What do we do now?

In a recent article, I wrote about the dangers of romanticizing the Pacific Northwest, and so many of you wanted to know if there were any better options. So if you’re still looking for the mountain town of your dreams, here are a few reasons why you should move to Anchorage, Alaska.

You’ve probably noticed these designs popping up in your city or neighborhood, making once-welcoming parks, benches, and sidewalks less inviting or downright hostile. Here are five things you should know about hostile architecture.

White American families responded to the desegregation of public pools and urban amusement parks in the exact same way—by collecting their children and going home, for good. White flight wasn’t just a “personal choice”, it was economic warfare.

When legally required to share public pools with Black children, many white families decided they’d rather not go at all. This summer, when you’re stuck at home with no way to cool off, remember that.

As a self-proclaimed low-ball roof boulderer, this post may come as a surprise. I LOVE SLAB. If you are building a home wall, I recommend building a slab wall. I wasn’t always pro-home slab wall. I was actually very upset when my coach told me, I needed a slab wall. But so far, my coach hasn’t been wrong in his recommendations. So this roof climber embarked on her slab climbing journey.

In 2021, I became the first female Kurdish sport climber in Bashur, Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). Everything I climbed was a first female ascent. This at first felt exciting! But with time, I realized it was a testament to the hardship Kurds have faced over the years.

We’re bringing attention to three Black nature stewards who are out there doing the work, while protecting natural areas, improving access and getting more Black people outside.

What keeps you from taking a chance and moving to a new place to start again? A few years ago, I was asking myself this same question. I started to search for a change in scenery, and it led me to Alaska.