Novelist and park ranger Shelton Johnson has long been troubled by the fact that less than one percent of the visitors to Yosemite National Park in California are African Americans. One of only a few African American rangers employed by the National Park Service, the Detroit native says his life was transformed when he visited a national park as a child. Now Johnson works hard to inspire other inner-city African Americans to experience the U.S. national parks.

Novelist and park ranger Shelton Johnson has long been troubled by the fact that less than one percent of the visitors to Yosemite National Park in California are African Americans. One of only a few African American rangers employed by the National Park Service, the Detroit native says his life was transformed when he visited a national park as a child. Now Johnson works hard to inspire other inner-city African Americans to experience the U.S. national parks.