Healing hikes : How one Oakland organization is making Black lives matter in nature
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Julius Crowe Hampton, a Outdoor Afro leader, kayaks at Marina Bay Yacht Harbor in Richmond.Yalonda M. James / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Outdoor Afro leader Julius Crowe Hampton (front left), Phoenix Joaquin Valle Diaz, 8, Abram Jackson (back left), Louis Puente, 10, and Diosa Diaz, with Outdoor Afro, lift their paddles before launching their boats into the water from Marina Bay Yacht Harbor in Richmond.Yalonda M. James / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Abu Baker, a local leader with Outdoor Afro, demonstrates how to use a paddle in front of kayaking participants outside John Henry High School in Richmond.Yalonda M. James / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
“Spring ahead” will come as an even bigger relief than usual after a year of lockdown.
Credit.Sally Deng
March 11, 2021
With the first anniversary of lockdown fast approaching, I thought I’d been through every possible pandemic milestone. As the months rolled by, I’d checked them off like squares on a Bingo card: First pandemic birthday, first pandemic holiday, first pandemic panic attack in an empty toilet paper aisle at Target.
But while the country was collectively mired in the coronavirus crisis when we turned the clocks back last November, there’s one pandemic milestone we haven’t fully experienced together yet: Turning them forward.
California lawmakers lead the push to expand outdoor opportunities for Black Americans
Rue Mapp
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Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro, walks along a trail inside Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland on March 19, 2017.Natasha Dangond / The Chronicle
I’m grateful to live near a waterfront park, and most days I take my dog there for fresh air and exercise. I’ve always loved these walks. But lately, it’s been especially inspiring to see that more people who look like me are out enjoying the outdoors.
The pandemic has clarified our collective need for access to nature close to home. But not everyone has a park within walking distance, nor do we feel welcome when we arrive. Last year, many of us watched footage of Christian Cooper receiving violent threats from a white woman while he was birdwatching in Central Park. This was another reminder of the risks Black people face when doing outdoor activities we love. But it also affirmed the importance of the work I do te
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.
Outdoor Afro Connects Black Americans With Nature kasu.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kasu.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.