Kamilah Journét, a powerful voice for anti-racism in the running and outdoor industries

Social Sport

July 2, 2020

Kamilah Journét lives in Southern California and has been running for well over a decade. After finding running in junior high school, she continued to compete at the high school and college level in both Cross Country and Track. She holds a personal best of 4:51 in the mile, though she also finds herself out for long days on the trails. Kamilah is drawn to brands in the active and outdoor spaces, having worked for companies in both the running and outdoor industries.

Recently, Kamilah wrote an article for the Tracksmith Journal entitled “Your Black Teammate” about her experience as a Black woman in the predominantly white space of US distance running. In our conversation, Kamilah and I get deep into this article, how brands can be held accountable to their anti-racist messaging, and even the connection between anti-racism and the environment.

Read Kamilah’s article, “Your Black Teammate,” in the Tracksmith Journal

Also discussed in this episode:

Connection between climate change and racism:

If you’re less familiar with this topic, here is an article to start with: “Unequal Impact: The Deep Links Between Racism and Climate Change” by Beth Gardiner Intersectional environmentalism and @greengirlleah

Kamilah on The Morning Shakeout Podcast

Kamilah’s recommended reading: Toni Morison

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Quote:

“𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨. 𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙬𝙠𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙠𝙚…𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙪𝙥?”

*Photo courtesy of Emily Maye by Tracksmith