CWA Blog Archive-Projecting Anti-Racism American Mountain Guides Association Affinity Programs

Projecting Anti-Racism American Mountain Guides Association Affinity Programs

Pdf Summary

This installment of the Projecting Anti-Racism series is a case study of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and its implementation of affinity programming. It frames the work within a growing challenge to the outdoor industry to be intentionally anti-oppressive, arguing the work goes beyond inclusion to afford real power to historically excluded groups, helping them self-actualize and gain access to jobs and certifications. Affinity programming is defined as any program offered to a group formed around a shared interest, identity, or goal, often created for customer or employee communities to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. In a learning environment like a certification or training program, affinity groups offer a supportive setting for participants to more comfortably and effectively engage with course material. The author writes from personal experience, organizing BelayALL, an anti-oppressive climbing collective, and taking countless people climbing without being a certified guide. They share a moment of heavy internal conflict while climbing with about 20 participants at the crag on Lil'wat territories in summer 2019: they know their understanding of outdoor safety and rescue is essential for helping people learn, yet they also grapple with the tension of doing this work while pursuing formal certification. The throughline is that affinity programming is a concrete, powerful tool for making climbing genuinely anti-oppressive, not merely inclusive, by giving historically excluded groups supportive spaces to learn, self-actualize, and access the jobs and certifications that confer real power in the industry.

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This Projecting Anti-Racism installment is a case study of the AMGA's affinity programming, defined as programs for groups sharing an identity or goal. It argues such programming goes beyond inclusion to transfer real power, helping excluded groups access jobs and certifications. The author draws on organizing the anti-oppressive climbing collective BelayALL.