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Juju Milay

@jujumil

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"Don't ask me where I'm from, ask me where I'm a local." Tiaye Selasi
Community builder
Founder of @colourthetrails @shesaidwhatshesaid_official

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“For every 100 Dollars donated to a charitable organization in Canada, as little as 7 Cents go toward supporting Black charities" study shows.

It's disheartening to witness individuals, organizations, and businesses co-opting Black movement while remaining fundamentally anti-Black. The outdoor industry continue to move through trends, the promise made to be inclusive as direct result of public brutality of Black folks has turned into marketing opportunities with little support for Black lead organizations, while everyone who isn’t Black benefits immensely.

A few months ago, I was taking a call with an organization that wanted me to work with them, discussing having CTT community join them on some hikes. The individuals in this organization have researched our work. And during the call into my ear they asked me to (quote) “not bring Black people only”. They want see more of people of colour too…

I paused. Took a deep breath and told them how anti-Black that statement was. I am a Black woman, whose work centres on my Black experience in the outdoors. You want Black woman’s labour, but not too much of it?

This isn’t new. So many brands always ask if Colour the Trails is space for non-Black racial community… But I don’t see them asking others, if other spaces is safe for Black folks!

We need genuine conversation how we show up in activism spaces. If you expect others to learn, you need to be open to learning too! Are we willing to educate ourselves, confront our own biases, and actively work towards dismantling anti-Black systems in communities, families and relationships? I am talking about racialized folks.

Co-opting the Black movement for personal gain, while remaining indifferent or even hostile to the experiences and struggles of Black people, is not only hypocritical but deeply harmful. Let's do the internal work necessary to challenge our own biases and dismantle the oppressive systems we benefit from. I use the word WE because I cannot exclude myself from internalized anti-Blackness of the world I was raised in, but holding myself accountable because my work was elevated by the countless Black liberation fighters, past, present and future. by @jujumil

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3 years ago

Dear outdoor industry, storytellers, and media crews

Having one BIPOC person on your roaster is NOT diversity. Having same group of BIPOC over and over and over in your media and storytelling is NOT diversity. Having only light skin folks (while specifically not showcasing dark skin Black women) is NOT diversity. Having BIPOC that are only at specific level of “sending it” is NOT diversity. It is the same old by-connection, elitism and gate keeping, not diversity.

This conversation is happening on much wider scale, not just outdoor industry. Just like in life in general, in media dark skin black and brown women are the least invited into spaces.

I see the same people, the same story being told, because those stories are platable to whiteness.

I once asked a creator with quite an influence why most of the models are white and people in their media crews have no diversity. And they told me that “they do not decide who to work with, companies say who they want”. Well… Yes, if you don’t speak up, don’t do the work, don’t confront, don’t seek, don’t connect, then nothing will change. Self-reflect on this, please

Allyship speaks in the spaces where BIPOC folks have no access to. If organization or client does not think it themselves- help them!

Fortunately I met people who have done exact this and successfully.

Diversity already exists. Inclusion is diving deeper and making sure it's not just the same people getting opportunity, it's giving others a chance.

Despite not being invited, or being intentionally excluded because I or my community may not look specific way or "sending it" enough, we are for us by us.

@colourthetrails continues to celebrate and create our own media and storytelling. We want to see more Black Muslim women feeling safe to pray in nature. We want mothers who venture out with their kids to feel welcomed. We want to show diversity and it doesn't have to be extreme. We want inclusion that is relatable for everyday people. We want a space where we continue to listen and learn from our Indigenous leaders without extracting knowledge, rather active reconciliation rooted in love and community.

Photos by @allisonseto by @jujumil

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4 years ago

We won't close the adventure gap by sitting and waiting for the world to change.

I hear complaints from folks that the outdoors spaces are too white and thus folks feel excluded and do not want to enter them at all. This after the labour, work to create access for folks, to learn amongst other BIPoC folks, learning as community.

But if we don't enter those spaces, where will diversity come from?! Are we supposed to wait for another 10-30-70 years till someone somehow will eradicate racism and then suddenly the space will become inclusive and welcoming and overnight we will get a bunch of BIPOC athletes, guides, coaches, staff?

This notion really undermines community organizations striving to create change by creating opportunity and accessibility for communities that have historically been excluded.

Yes, we know the outdoors is white. Not news. Academia, STEM, Business, Government... All these spaces are still very white. Do we sit and wait? Or do we change it?!

What I suggest to fellow BIPOC - if you do not feel like you have capacity to do the work yourself, then find community groups that do the change and support them!

The most important thing we can do, is to show up as a collective, to uplift and support community organizers working to change the narrative. By us standing up, uplifting each other, we can then begin to see the change.

Complaining isn't going to change anything. Change takes time. change require action. Change requires us to be humble and yet stern in our belief.

Change inspires. Change creates learning opportunities. Change sees values and strengths of the individuals and shapes them to become fully themselves. Change takes time. Patience is virtue. One that we all need to learn, if we truly want to see the world be more inclusive.

Support BIPoC lead initiatives that are offering opportunity, mentorship and financial accessibility. Invest fianicially, vounteer your skills and pay- it-forward for others to gain access. This how we ought to show up. Always. Ready to uplift.

“If you don't like something - change it. If you can't change it - change your attitude.” Maya Angelou

📸: @allisonseto

#iceclimbing
#nature
#canmore by @jujumil

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5 years ago

Hello.. from Gemini

#mountainlife by @jujumil

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3 days ago

Racism doesn’t stop at the trailhead. Judith Kasiama speaks about the looks that make you question your place, and what changes when you find a community where you can simply be yourself.

In this episode of En tête-à-tête, we meet the founder of @colourthetrails , an organisation bringing Black, Indigenous and people of colour together to hike, ski, climb and learn alongside one another.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Judith shares a childhood shaped by displacement, the experience of becoming a Canadian citizen, and the sense of home she has found in the forests of British Columbia. Along the way, she reflects on how we build belonging through the people who welcome us, the friendships we form, and the invitations we extend.
Through her work, we discover what making the outdoors more accessible looks like in practice: making a first lesson affordable, finding the confidence to try, falling on a ski slope and laughing with people who are learning too. Moments of collective joy that become their own form of resistance.

We also talk about representation in outdoor media, whose voices shape mountain stories, and the personal cost of pushing for change. How do you keep showing up for your community while protecting your own energy?

A conversation about racism, finding home, and experiencing the mountains without having to leave part of yourself at the trailhead.

Enjoy the episode « Racism in the outdoors: who gets to belong? With Judith Kasiama » (link in bio) ✨

Racism doesn’t stop at the trailhead. Judith Kasiama speaks about the looks that make you question your place, and what changes when you find a community where you can simply be yourself.

In this episode of En tête-à-tête, we meet the founder of @colourthetrails , an organisation bringing Black, Indigenous and people of colour together to hike, ski, climb and learn alongside one another.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Judith shares a childhood shaped by displacement, the experience of becoming a Canadian citizen, and the sense of home she has found in the forests of British Columbia. Along the way, she reflects on how we build belonging through the people who welcome us, the frien by @jujumil

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8 days ago

by @jujumil

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18 days ago

I go to the sea to heal myself.

#sunrise #natureheals by @jujumil

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4 months ago

Dream big, little one..

Happy Birthday Baby Gemini... time is a thief, and I'm doing my best to enjoy every moment.

#2 #dreambig by @jujumil

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4 months ago

You are all the magic that you need. Mercy by @titilope

#gravelbike ##spokenword #inspiration #enough by @jujumil

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4 months ago

Serving looks, not apologies—@kaicollective understood the assignment. ✨💅🏽

#servinglooks by @jujumil

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6 months ago

Climbing hills like they owe me money ⚡🚵‍♂️

Thanks for the Demo @comorgoplayoutside

#shreddingthegap by @jujumil

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6 months ago

Icelandic dreams...

Thank you @66north a trip of a lifetime

Photo: @neverbadtimeforchanges by @jujumil

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6 months ago