James Edward Mills

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Edward Mills at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Alaska June 2016 (photo by Carly Harmon)

James Edwards Mills (born 1966)[1][2] is an African American author, freelance journalist, outdoor guide and independent media producer.[3]

Mills wrote The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors. He has also contributed to numerous publications including National Geographic, Rock & Ice and Alpinist.[4][5] Mills was one of the creative minds behind An American Ascent, a documentary chronicling the first all African American ascent of Denali, North America's highest peak.


Biography[]

Growing up in Los Angeles, California, Mills developed an interest in the outdoors through his participation in a local Boy Scout troop.[6] He subsequently started an outdoor focused career in 1989, spending time as a guide, outfitter, and sales rep.[7]

In 2013, alongside Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin and Jeanne O’Brian of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Mills helped organize the first all African American expedition to successfully summit Denali, North America's highest peak.[8] Mills initially intended to take part in the bid for Denali's peak, but a hip replacement operation prevented him from joining the summit team.[9] A documentary about the Denali expedition entitled: An American Ascent was subsequently produced. Mills acted as a cowriter and coproducer on this production.[5]

In 2014, Mills authored The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors, a work begun while recovering from his hip replacement surgery.[8] This book explores the difficulties minorities face when seeking to utilize the nation's outdoor resources while highlighting role models who have found ways to participate in outdoor recreation despite these barriers.[10] Mills has also contributed to a variety of publications including National Geographic, Rock & Ice and Alpinist. He is the founder of The Joy Trip Project, a blog, reporting and podcast series focused on outdoor recreation.[7]

Through the University of Wisconsin's , Mills has taught a summer course entitled: 'Outdoors for All'.[11] This course focuses on exploring historical barriers to diversity in the outdoors and future solutions to make access to the outdoors more equitable.[12]

Awards & honors[]

  • Paul K. Petzoldt Award For Environmental Education (2016)[7][13][14]
  • Yosemite National Park Centennial Ambassador (2016)[7][15][16]
  • Banff Centre Mountain & Wilderness Writing Program Fellow (2014)[7][13]

Published works[]

Books[]

  • The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors, Seattle: 2014. ISBN 9781594858680.[17]

Articles[]

  • Here's how national parks are working to fight racism (2020)[18]
  • These people of color transformed U.S. national parks (2020)[19]
  • Opinion: Built on smoke (2020)[20]
  • No Pain, No Change (2019)[21]
  • The Force of the Soul: Hugues Beauzile (2018)[22]
  • Polar Explorer Eric Larsen Begins Attempt to Bike to the South Pole (2012)[23]
  • Wired - Exploring The Adventure Gap (2012)[24]

Filmography[]

James Edward Mills was credited as a cowriter and coproducer on the production.

Awards[]

An American Ascent won Best Feature Film at the .[25] It was also won Best Documentary and Best Director at the San Diego Black Film Festival.[27][25]

The film was privately screened at the White House in June 2015. [28]

References[]

  1. ^ Congress, The Library of. "LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". id.loc.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  2. ^ "310614346". viaf.org. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  3. ^ "James Edward Mills". Center for Humans & Nature. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Backstage Live with James Edward Mills". National Geographic. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "James Edward Mills". Mountainfilm. 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  6. ^ "The Adventure Gap: Q&A with Author James Edward Mills — Washington Trails Association". www.wta.org. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "About The Joy Trip Project". The Joy Trip Project. 2018-01-21. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Outdoors for All: An Interview with James Edward Mills - National Forest Foundation". www.nationalforests.org. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  9. ^ "The Adventure Gap and Narratives of Inclusion: James Edward Mills talks about why the face of outdoor adventure must change - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  10. ^ Mills, James. "The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors". The Mountaineers. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  11. ^ "'Outdoors for All': Summer course explores efforts to make recreation and conservation more diverse and inclusive - Nelson Institute | News". nelson.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  12. ^ "The Nelson Institute". nelson.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "JORDAHL PUBLIC LANDS LECTURE: LAND STORIES: VOICES OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE". In Common. 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  14. ^ O'Brien, Jeanne. "James Mills Receives Paul K. Petzoldt Award for The Adventure Gap book". SNEWS. Retrieved 2021-02-26.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Familiar Faces, Important Places". River Alliance of WI. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  16. ^ Mills, James Edward. "The Buffalo Soldiers' Overlooked Role in Preserving Our Public Lands". Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  17. ^ Mills, James Edward (2014). The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-59485-868-0.
  18. ^ "How can the National Park Services work to be anti-racist?". Travel. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  19. ^ Mills, James (2020-06-23). "Here's how national parks are working to fight racism". National Geographic. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  20. ^ Mills, James Edward. "Opinion: Are we setting the stage for real change, or is history repeating itself?". SNEWS. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  21. ^ Mills, James Edward. "The road to a more diverse outdoor industry". SNEWS. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  22. ^ "The Force of the Soul: Hugues Beauzile - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  23. ^ "Polar Explorer Eric Larsen Begins Attempt to Bike to the South Pole". Adventure. 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  24. ^ "Wired - Exploring The Adventure Gap - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c "An American Ascent". An American Ascent. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  26. ^ "An American Ascent". Collective Eye Films. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  27. ^ Adams, Casey. "'An American Ascent' Earns Best Picture, Best Director". blog.nols.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  28. ^ "The White House Screens AN AMERICAN ASCENT". An American Ascent. Retrieved 2021-03-03.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""