A woman hikes in a park. (Mint Images/Getty Images)
On any given Sunday in 42 cities throughout the country, you might spot an organized group of Black people hiking, skiing or birdwatching.
These groups are part of a larger collective calledOutdoor Afro, a nonprofit organization that aims to reclaim nature for Black people.
Now with the pandemic, the group is larger than ever, defying the misconception that Black people aren’t that into nature. It’s a stereotype rooted in the fact that for a long time Black people were denied access to outdoor spaces.
Rue Mapp was tired of those stereotypes. That’s why the former Morgan Stanley analyst founded Outdoor Afro in 2009. More than a decade later, Outdoor Afro has 80 leaders across the U.S. and it’s growing through this pandemic.