A team of eleven members, all black, is set to scale the highest mountain peak, Mount Everest, in Nepal with a message to promote racial equality, and the objective to show that nothing is beyond their reach. Though individually many black people have climbed the peak earlier, this will be the first time an all-black team will attempt it.

“We believe our project will encourage people of color to not just dream big, but simply get outside,” Philip Henderson, a native of California, the leader of the 11-member all-black expedition team from the United States, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post. The aim, he added, to spread awareness about the need for diversity and inclusion in outdoor sports and beyond for the black community.

The expedition, with 60 members in total, including 25 Sherpa guides, will begin this week and will also be filmed by an eight-member crew. They hope that at least nine of the eleven would scale the mountain.

For centuries, black people in the United States suffered discrimination, and were subjected to segregation. However, things have changed in the last few decades, with growing civil rights movements, and awareness of racial discrimination.

“Black people have started moving to big cities. They have started dreaming,” Henderson said.“ Things have changed but they have not changed much,” he added. The black community, their identity, and the issues they face are yet to be fully known by people around the world, he said.

If we succeed, he said, “the new generation will see what we did.” The risk is also great, he admitted. Through this summit, he said, “We want to tell the world that we build the community and we are also a part of the community.”

Adina Scott, one of two female members of the team, said, “This is a project where we can make an impact.”

Nepal, itself a diverse society with multiple ethnic groups, has its own experience in tackling the challenges of diversity and inclusivity. Significantly, much of the progress regarding rights and inclusivity in Nepali society happened in the last two decades. But, many of the systematic and psychological barriers are yet to be broken.

“This is an amazing project,” Shanti Nepali, one among the eight filming crew, said. “This project will not only raise awareness in the great outdoors in American society but in Nepal too, where many communities which still face barriers either from the government or the society.”

(SAM)