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15 Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2020 Black. The city of Denver is better, at 9.5 percent, but still well below the 13 percent national average. Likewise, the outdoor industry’s major trade as- sociation and largest media company both call Boulder, Colo., home, where only about 1 percent of the population is Black. Much of a trade association’s work is done in Washington, D.C., where Indigenous and People of Color make up well more than half of the cit- izenship and Blacks represent about 50 percent of the population. It would seem Washington D.C. is a reason- able place for a lobbying and public opinion-based organization to set up a headquarters, where it would also find an abundance of Black candidates for employment and engagement. Indeed, it’s no secret. By and large, the cities and towns that tend to host clusters of outdoor brands and manufacturers and that boast thriving outdoor communities largely reside in states with very low rates of Black residency. An analysis of the outdoor brands and vendors listed in the In- side Outdoor 2020 Outdoor Industry Directory , for instance, found just more than 80 outdoor brands in Or- egon (ranked 44th among U.S. states and territories with 2 percent Black population). That’s more outdoor companies than are listed in the five states with the largest percentage of Black residents all combined (Missis- sippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland and South Carolina). Both Montana (ranked 54, 0.7 percent) and Wyoming (ranked 45, 1.3 percent) are home to more outdoor brands than Alabama (27 percent Black residents) despite the fact that Alabama’s overall popu- lation is more than four times larger than Montana and more than eight times larger than Wyoming. Even more shocking, the more than 60 outdoor companies headquar- tered in the city of Boulder alone is greater than the number of outdoor companies listed in the entire state of Florida (ranked 13th, 16 percent Black) and more than Alabama, Ten- nessee (12th, 17 percent), Virginia (11th, 20 percent) and Arkansas (14th, 16 percent) all combined. Keep in mind, those four states are home to more than 23 million people. Boulder’s population is just more than 106,000. In other outdoorsy cities such as Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Bozeman, Mont.; Stowe, Vermont; and Jackson, Wyo., Black populations make up anywhere from as little 2.6 percent to 0.09 percent. Even California, the home to more than 400 outdoor vendors and brands, by far the state with the most, ranks 31st among all U.S. states and ter- ritories with less than 7 percent of its populace being Black. Utah, which is home to more than 200 outdoor brands and the former home of the Outdoor Retailer expos, ranks 46th. Of course, it’s not surprising that outdoor communities and organiza- tions set up camp in places that have close proximity to the nation’s best The Advocates