Burning Man founder: 'Black folks don't like to camp as much as white folks' | Culture | The Guardian

Black burners are not an abstract concept for Harvey: "My family is half black," he said. "I see black people! And they're here. Though I got a lot of criticism for once saying, `Well I don't think black people like to camp'." Harvey's comment drew nervous laughter from other Burning Man staff and members of international media at a press conference before the Guardian's interview. "There are some historic reasons for that, especially in the United States."

Asked later to expand on this, Harvey told the Guardian: "Remember a group that was enslaved and made to work. Slavishly, you know in the fields. This goes all the way back to the Caribbean scene, when the average life of a slave in the fields was very short. And, so, there's that background, that agrarian poverty associated with things. Maybe your first move isn't to go camping. Seriously."

The rest of the year, Harvey lives in the historically black Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco. "My wife is from Jamaica. My ex-wife. My stepchildren - and then there's my son. So, it's a biracial family.