Episode #23- This Is Us, Too

The Climbing Advocate

This month’s episode features multiple guests who share their insights and experiences in the space of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The guests include Access Fund staff member Taimur Ahmad, founder of Brown Girls Climb and Access Fund board member Bethany Lebewitz, and Access Fund board member Kenji Haroutunian. In light of recent events concerning social justice, both nationally and within the climbing community, our guests give us some powerful insights on the importance of social justice and why climbers should care about these matters. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences, so understanding this topic can be challenging and uncomfortable for some. This opens up opportunities for learning, as these guests share their experiences in climbing over the years, their thoughts on route naming, and what they are optimistic about for the future of climbing. Taimur, Bethany, and Kenji leave us with a lot to reflect on and suggestions about how to move forward in our respective climbing careers with these important ideas in mind. Enjoy! 3:55- Episode welcome and Taimur’s intro 5:48- Bethany’s intro 6:46- Kenji’s intro 9:16- Progression of DEI over the last 30 years 13:07- Impacts on Bethany’s climbing experience 17:25- Founding Brown Girls Climb 19:25- Defining leadership 22:45- Impacts of Kenji’s climbing experience 28:20- Impacts of Taimur’s climbing experience 32:09- Social justice & climbing 40:52- Re-naming routes 59:08- Coming from different background & relationship building 1:02:50- Being action-oriented- What can climbers do? 1:21:38- Optimism for the future of climbing Why Route Names Matter: https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/why-route-names-matter Four Ways LCOs Can Make the Climbing Community More Inclusive: https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/4-ways-lcos-can-make-the-climbing-community-more-inclusive Renaming Routes at Ten Sleep: https://www.climbing.com/news/ten-sleep-route-names-changed-to-honor-racial-justice-movement/ Power Company Climbing: https://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/uprising-resources Brown Girls Climb: IG and Facebook: @browngirlsclimb https://www.browngirlsclimb.com/ https://www.colorthecrag.com/