About Smokies Hikes for Healing

Healing begins with a conversation.

Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away, and change doesn’t happen overnight. As our country addresses systemic racism and tries to heal from injustices both past and present, keeping an open dialogue is essential to moving forward. Join Park Superintendent Cassius Cash, the first-ever African American superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in this ongoing discussion on race — all while on the trail in the beautiful Smokies wilderness.

Hear the perspectives of others, share your own experiences and ask important questions in a brave space.

Nobody is perfect. We all have room to learn and grow.

History

Over the past few months, many Americans are sensing that a change is afoot in how we discuss and confront racism in this country.

The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks have ignited a social justice movement through massive protesting demonstrations in a way that this country hasn’t witnessed since the late 1960s. And because the deaths of these individuals went viral, the issue of racism has captured the attention of millions around the world.

The deaths of these unarmed African Americans have also awakened the curiosity of many white Americans to gain a broader sense of how inequalities stemming from implicit and explicit racism play a role in everyday life. And more importantly—many white Americans are now asking themselves how they are inadvertently contributing to this issue by not assessing their own assumptions on racism.

Because of this, a growing number of people are beginning to see how this imperfection of humanity has inhibited us from being our best. People want to do their part in making racism a condition of the past. And, in order to do that, folks are reading and learning about our collective cultural realities and how they affect every aspect in our lives. They are also learning the important distinction between simply being nonracist versus being intentionally antiracist.

We’ve reached a pivotal time in our country with change-makers hungrily seeking opportunities to be a part of making foundational shifts in how race is perceived in our culture and systems. There are many steps leading toward change, and healing must be a part of the process. The healing begins by bringing people from different races and perspectives together to share truths and to listen for understanding. Through these conversations, relationships can be formed that build a platform for creating change together in communities, organizations, and beyond. The time is now.   

The Hikes

The Smokies Hikes for Healing (SHFH) initiative is designed to use Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a place of sanctuary for eight (8) guided hikes. Ten (10) independent individuals from Tennessee and North Carolina communities around the park will be selected for each experience.

At some point during these hikes, a highly-trained and dynamic facilitator will lead each group in a thought-provoking discussion around race by first establishing an environment that is honest, brave, and curious for individuals to recognize the long-standing ills associated with racism and how these have carried over into today’s society.  

The overall objective of SHFH is to create a series of cohorts where crucial conversations about race will occur in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. It is envisioned that the selected participants, who start the hike as strangers, will create a unique bond from the experience that leads to continued conversations around the change that is needed within themselves and within their communities to combat racism.

Facilitators will equip SHFH participants with tools and ideas about how to make unbiased choices and how to practice antiracism in all aspects of their lives. These choices require ongoing self-awareness, self-reflection, and active practice, none of which are easy, but all are necessary in order make a better world!

As part of the SHFH experience, the park will create a digital platform where participants can share their stories, realizations, and commitments in a shared space to inspire others to be a part of the journey in their own way. 

People may also be inspired to host their own hikes to create a similar shared experience. The park provides the perfect backdrop for sharing, understanding, and healing. The goal of the initiative is to provide a safe space for people to begin difficult conversations that can lead to change. Through this initiative, we want to extend an invitation for people to be a part of these important and pivotal conversations in one of America’s most special places.