Dispatch from the 2023 National Jamboree
Despite its relatively low attendance, the BSA's largest event was home to a number of milestones in the realm of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Amid the hundreds of tents erected for the Boy Scouts of America’s National Jamboree, one especially stands out — decorated with a canopy of LGBTQ Pride flags and a string of multicolored lights, its tables covered with bowls of rainbow bracelets, pronoun stickers and diversity patches.
“This is my entire world,” said 18-year-old River Capell, a scout volunteer from Northern Virginia who describes themselves as nonbinary and pansexual. Since the jamboree began last week, Capell has had plenty of company under the huge canvas. “There’s been days where there’s 2,000 kids in this tent alone. And that is just, like, absurd.”
Absurd indeed given the BSA’s traditionally conservative bent. But this first-ever affinity space for LGBTQ youth at a Jamboree has been embraced, as have similar spaces recognizing scouts of color and the first girls admitted by the organization.
“I've had some scouts asking genuine questions, like ‘What does it mean to be this? What does it mean to be that?’” Capell told me. “But it was all curiosity, and how do I help, rather than [hostility]. So it's all been incredibly welcoming and positive.”
I can personally attest to the positive vibes at the community space. I spent the day at the Summit on Tuesday, soaking in all that the Jamboree had to offer, but mostly hanging around the LGBTQ+ and Allied Scouts tent.
It felt like a clear evolution of the space at last year’s National Order of the Arrow Conference, where I served as volunteer staff for the week. At the Summit this year, a steady stream of youth buzzed around the LGBTQ tent, scooping up merch and sticking around for a presentation or discussion hour.
I wrote about my impressions—and what these advances mean for the BSA at large—in a piece for The Washington Post (my first ever for the paper!) I’ve teased a bit here, but I shared lots more details in that article, which you can read at the link below.
Did you get a chance to attend the Jamboree and check out the community spaces for yourself? What did you think? Chime in and let us know!
