That involves a recollection of harm in nature and how we as African Americans do have to overcome the generational memory and experience of terror in the woods. We’re talking history from the '50s and '60s—not too long ago. For some of the toughest people I know who live in edgy urban settings, the idea of being in the woods on a trail is terrifying. Because bad things have happened to black people in the woods—it’s an undeniable fact.
So how do you deal with that negative history?
Now we have a chance, with Outdoor Afro and others, to tell a new narrative—one that’s about joy and healing. After some of the police-related violence and shootings in the country over the last few years, what Outdoor Afro leadership and participants chose to do was a series of nature healing hikes. It’s taking our burden to where we always knew we could go—down by the riverside. That has been a way for us to cope with the uncertainties that we have experienced as a country.
The response to the healing hikes was overwhelmingly positive. In Oakland, the hike was organized in partnership with law enforcement. It was not meant to be a PR platform for any group—it was just intended to be there for the local community. We were in this moment when it felt like there was nothing but polarization. We have to figure out ways to get connected again, to get to know each other again. And being out in nature is one way to do that—to have people out there who don’t know each other and who may need to release their frustrations and talk about their challenges—it’s different from meeting on the sidewalk and talking.
And it has been a unifier. With nature, it doesn’t know if you are black or white. The trees don’t know what color you are. The animals don’t know what your socio-economic status is. It’s really a place we can be equalized with our fellow man and feel free from the weight and strain that those kinds of assumptions about who we are cause in our daily lives.
Why is diversity in the outdoors important?
Everybody needs to be engaged so that these places can continue to exist for the benefit of everybody—and not just for people in the know. I feel like, for some of our parks and public lands, if you’re not in the know and you don’t know they’re there, you won’t ever visit them. If you don’t visit them, then when it comes time to vote or to make a donation, it’s not going to resonate with you. For nonproftis in this space, they have to look at who their donor base is, and whether that donor base is representing the future of America or their past. But it’s not an instant change that can be expected here. I think what we’re talking about is a generational shift.
We’re trying to help people get their nature swagger back. You might love nature be-
if they do, they’ll be much more likely to come to the table to save those places where they built that relationship. It’s not linear—they may not help save them. A set number of experiences in nature will not necessarily turn someone into a con-servationist, but if they never go, we know it won’t happen.
Do Outdoor Afro participants encompass a range of experience, or are most of them already avid outdoors people?
It’s a range, and that’s been delightfully surprising to us. We have people who have summited mountains around the world and people who have never done anything--who had to work up the courage to even join us for the first time.
We have one leader who never had any of this kind of experience who joined us and then ended up taking a trip to summit Mt. Whitney. That required managing the tactical plans and logistics, altitude sickness--so much went into that. But, because she was provided this support and infrastructure, she had the confidence to pull it off. Those are the stories we really enjoy seeing. People may come in at a certain place and then just take off and discover that there’s a whole world of outdoor experiences out there that they can’t get enough of.
And you don’t have to have an afro to be in Outdoor Afro. We’ve been blessed to have folks understand what we do without being offended by it, and we have people who are not black who participate whenever they want--everybody’s welcome. I’m finding that this work is a way for people to come together in ways that other parts of our lives don’t allow. Even though we are focused on the African American experience, it’s not exclusive. We also have diversity in experience, age, and economic status.
Many organizations want to encourage more diverse participants but have had limited success. Do you have any insight on how to approach this issue?
Diversity and inclusion is like love. You can’t make someone be in a relationship with you if they don’t want to be. You don’t get there if you don’t take the time to get to know people and what matters to them. Sometimes we can get so bogged down in our product that we are not considering how the product has relevance to the communities we want to touch.
Going to a remote wilderness area is not at the top of most people’s bucket list—black or white. We need to think about what we can offer busy working people that will make their lives better, rather than saying we have something that they of course want. That’s not the case.
Outdoor Afro leads big trips to national parks as well as simpler outings closer to home. For what you are trying to foster, is one more important than the other?
They’re both really important. When people are focused only on national parks, it’s tough. That’s a once-a-year thing for many people. But when you go to natural spaces that are nearby, they are already activating people who live in those communities, especially busy families who don’t have a lot to spend on travel and lodging. Going to a local park and walking a dog may be all you can do. And those places close to home can absolutely be a gateway for other experiences.
Some Outdoor Afro activities have weaved in historical significance. Why bring this appreciation of history together with appreciation of nature?
When interpretation includes people’s histories, visitors look at those spaces differently. You mean this was an area that was once inhabited by someone who looked like me or someone who overcame something that I can relate to? It’s been phenomenal to see that kind of spark that’s ignited when we’re able to tell these stories, and a lot of them are not on the official placards.
There’s definitely bad history--people getting lynched and disappearing in the woods—but there’s also amazing history. We had leaders last year take on over 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail, which overlaps with the Underground Railroad at some points. For people to do that was incredibly powerful—it was a way for them to challenge themselves but also connect deeply with this history. Today, people have GPS, nice hiking boots, and a nice base layer. They learned about people who did that same trek who didn’t have that. It created a deep sense of understanding and empathy for what our ancestors had to endure.
'The trees don’t know what color you are. The animals don’t know what your socioeconomic status is. It’s really a place we can be equalized with our fellow man.'
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