Background
We recognize climbing is currently a privileged sport predominantly practiced by and available to white folks. Our gyms reflect this inequity, both in terms of member and visitor base as well as employee demographics. Making our gyms and our company safe, uplifting spaces for all is one of our core values, and though we have a strong record of creating access points for youth with less privilege, we are new to the equity, diversity, and inclusion work specific to race and racism necessary for us to see our internal biases and tendencies. It is our priority to collaborate with others, particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color, to help us diversify our culture and make our spaces and our sport authentically accessible to all.
It is in this spirit that we first started working with Emily Taylor in 2017. Ms. Taylor ran several coaching programs and personal training businesses out of Great Western Power Company. In recognition of the socioeconomic realities for Black folks in the United States and the specific barriers to climbing, we did not ask for a percentage of her earnings or charge her clients. All involved were given free memberships and unlimited access to Touchstone gyms. When Ms. Taylor would facilitate groups outside of her usual clientele we would occasionally ask for a $5 fee per participant. Ms. Taylor was not an employee of Touchstone, and we did not ask for or expect financial returns from her or her programs. The point was to support her work, which we believed in and saw a need for.
After years of seemingly difficult issues with Ms. Taylor, we felt there was no choice but to end our relationship with her in 2019. We presented as a reason, her lack of appreciation of the sensitivities of our staff and members. That seems pathetic now. The clear imbalance of power in the relationship, much less that between a staff and member base with very little Black representation, makes it clear how much work we have to do. Our termination was abrupt, unprofessional, and unkind, and we were too defensive at the time to engage. As a large, predominantly white company working with a Black businesswoman, the onus was on us to do more work to hear and respect Ms. Taylor and try to make our professional relationship functional.
Why did it take the better part of a year to apologize? Frankly, we didn’t feel a parting of ways between business entities required it. We were ignorant, and it has taken us time, reflection, and counsel from Black and people of color, Racial Equity experts, to see this. Even as we gain insight, we will likely make mistakes. Full DEI awareness follows a long, perhaps never ending trail, a trek we are wholly committed to take.
We also caused pain to her clients and their families. We regret the harm we have done to their relationship to rock climbing. We apologize to have come too late to this realization.
To the Black community that has been so deeply wounded by our silence, we are sorry. We say that climbing is for everyone, but we have not given you reason to believe us. We should have listened to you, and we acknowledge all the work you have been doing to get us to listen.
To our broader climbing community, we are just beginning to understand the extent of our bias and ignorance, and our inability to create an emotionally safe environment for Black folks and people of color who have and are wanting to access our spaces, also mirrored in our organization. Collectively, we are at our strongest when the lives of our under-represented, under-served, and marginalized community members are valued and their voices are included in the conversation. We will renew our efforts to cultivate a vibrant, accessible, and equitable climbing community we can all feel safe in and proud to be a part of.
Next Steps
We have brought the climbing experience to over 50,000 marginalized youth since 1995 when we opened in the Mission. Last year alone we served over 60 groups, 3,300 individuals, and raised $60,000 for organizations that support underrepresented or underserved communities in climbing; we offer free or discounted access to the gyms through meetup groups, schools, and nonprofit organizations. But that is not enough. What we have not done is make the sport more safe, racially equitable, diverse, and accessible to all. We know it is important to have our company and gyms reflect the rich racial and cultural diversity of our cities, neighborhoods, and communities. We have seen this failure for some time, but we are now aware that our biases and ignorance have been the barrier. It will take some time to remove those barriers, but we are excited to start.
DEI Commitments
Anti-racism work is a crucial part of our vision for a more inclusive and equitable sport. We make the following commitments to standing with our BIPOC community:
1. DEI Training
We commit to indefinite holistic, company-wide DEI training, from desk staff to the CEO. DEI training for us does not mean checking a box. It means ingraining the work into every aspect of our company culture, and recognizing that the work is personal, emotional, and necessary. We commit to an ongoing professional engagement with BIPOC-led DEI training organizations and consultants so that we can continue to grow and support this work into the future.
2. Diversity in Hiring
We will rework our hiring practices with the help of BIPOC organization consultation to make them more diverse at all levels. But it is not enough to simply hire diverse staff—we will also develop the structures to support them, including mentorship and ongoing training to encourage long-term employment.
3. Remove the Cost Barrier
Race and socioeconomics are bound up in the anti-Black schema of the United States. We will expand our assistance programs in scope and magnitude to minimize the cost barrier present to those of lesser means, particularly for our Black communities.
4. Community Youth Programs
We will continue to build bridges for community collaborations through schools, local organizations, and member initiatives to ensure that our gyms represent and serve their neighborhoods. Many of our gyms are located in neighborhoods that are diverse but deeply segregated. We want our gyms to be places where everyone in our communities can come together and climb, connect, work out, and be seen. Using our relationship with the Boyle Heights Boys & Girls Club in Los Angeles as a template, we will expand our partnership with BGC to an additional location and look to expand this program even further in the future.
5. Youth Membership and Competition Programs
It is clear that Black children have not experienced the full depth of support, joy, and celebration of other youth climbers. We will change this through continued development of programs with BIPOC community involvement to ensure Black climbers are a part of our youth programs, from our after school recreational groups to Team Touchstone. We will also provide scholarships and develop additional forms of financial aid to ensure that all can afford the program.
6. BIPOC and Gender Identity Meetup Groups
Though our ultimate goal is to make our gyms safe, diverse, and inclusive spaces at all times, affinity groups continue to provide important pathways and community bonds in climbing. We will continue to support our meetup groups by making changes to increase participation and to ensure that all participants feel welcome. We will put particular focus on creating greater accessibility for first time climbers.
7. BIPOC Groups Further Afield
We commit to financially supporting groups and causes working to increase diversity in climbing outdoors and throughout the country, like Brown Girls Climb and The Brown Ascenders, and continue our sponsorship of the annual Color the Crag event. We will continue to provide opportunities for our staff to attend sponsored events so that they can build community, represent us, and return with knowledge and ideas for us to implement at our gyms.
8. Competition and Event Sponsorship
We want our big annual events to reflect the full climbing community and to be a safe and uplifting experience for all. We will establish grant programs to help financially support BIPOC participation in our large annual climbing competitions like Woman Up and Battle of the Bay.
9. Diversity in Touchstone Athletics
It is time we celebrate diversity on our athlete roster. It is important that we amplify stories and accomplishments from climbers of color, and especially Black climbers. We will be expanding the athletes we support and feature on our social media accounts to better represent our diverse communities.
