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Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2020 16 and most beautiful outdoor gifts. On the other hand, does a prospec- tive Black employee, enthusiast or influencer have to move to an over- whelmingly white town, far from famil- iar neighborhoods, restaurants and cultural and social ties, in order to join the “outdoor lifestyle” and immerse in an outdoor community? The good news is, the vast ma- jority of U.S. residents make their homes within a daytrip’s drive of a backcountry experience or wide open spaces, and that includes not only the Western U.S. but also huge swaths of land in the South and Southeast. Of course, too many people lack the accessible trans- portation to reach these therapeutic places, but many, if not most, places in America are a daytrip’s distance to quality outdoor recreation. Consider Alexandria, La., total population 45,800. Alexandria sits a daytrip away from Kisatchie Na- tional Forest to the north, the Sabine and Angelina National forests to the west, the Homochitto National Forest and Mississippi river to the east and numerous wildlife refugees all around. Together those natural resources offer millions of acres open to hiking, camping, biking, pad- dling, fishing, backpacking, wildlife watching, hunting and much more. Alexandria’s populace is more than 55 percent Black. Louisiana is the state or territory with the fourth larg- est percentage of Black resident, at about 32 percent. In Knoxville, Tenn., (population 191,000) where nearly one in five residents is Black, nearby outdoor recreational opportunities rival most any place in the West. In addition to the countless playgrounds along the neighboring Blue Ridge Mountains, there is a jewel of the National For- est system sitting just to the north in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest. Mount Michel, N.C, the tallest peak in the Appalachian Mountains (6,684 ft.) is only about two and half hours by car. Much the same could be said for nearby Chattanooga, Tenn., (popula- tion 184,000), where about a third of residents are Black, as well as Green- ville, S.C., (population 71,000), where Blacks make up more than a quarter of the city’s residents. Consider the state of Mississippi, the U.S. state with the highest propor- tion of Black residents. Mississippi is home to six National Forests making up 1.1 million acres that offer roll- ing hills in the upper Coastal Plain, flat piney woods and bottomland hardwoods. These lands host 2,000 acres of lakes, 600 miles of streams, 14 wildlife management areas, a Na- tional Scenic River and two National Recreation Trails serving up 60 miles for hikers to explore the piney woods. More than a few of the national lands The Advocates States with Largest Total Black Population % African- American Rank by % U.S. State African-American Alone Population 15.18% 15  New York 3,073,800 15.91% 13  Florida 2,999,862 11.91% 21  Texas 2,979,598 31.4% 5  Georgia 2,950,435 6.67% 31  California 2,299,072 21.60% 9  North Carolina 2,048,628 14.88% 16  Illinois 1,866,414 30.1% 6  Maryland 1,798,593 19.91% 11  Virginia 1,551,399 32.4% 4  Louisiana 1,506,534 12.04% 20  Ohio 1,407,681 14.24% 18  Michigan 1,400,362 10.79% 23  Pennsylvania 1,377,689 28.48% 7  South Carolina 1,290,684 26.38% 8  Alabama 1,251,311 14.46% 17  New Jersey 1,204,826 37.30% 3  Mississippi 1,098,385 16.78% 12  Tennessee 1,055,689 Source: U.S. Census, 2010 Source: McKinsey & Co. Masks and barriers Physical distancing No-contact purchasing Store regulations Health checks 31% 25% 15% 11% 10% 9% Top CBD Use Cases % of respondents for whom this criterion is the most important Source: McKinsey & Co. Outdoor Participation Rates by Diverse Groups Over Time Source: Outdoor Industry Association, 2018 participation report Pain Relief Relaxation Stress Relief Reduce Anxiety Better Sleep 37.6% 37.8% 38.5% 39.8% 52.2% 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 30% 40% 50% 60% White Black Hispanic Asian