Saturday, June 2nd, 2012  - 10:30 am to 2:00 pm

The event will showcase some of the rich history that occurred along the Harpers Ferry section of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.)

W E B Du Bois

A moderate 1-mile guided hike will begin at ATC’s Visitor Center and end by following the Appalachian Trail downhill past numerous scenic spots and historic structures. At each historic site, a Harpers Ferry Park ranger will give an interpretive presentation about its significance. Participants will learn about African American history and will be given the rare opportunity to view the inside the Curtis Freewill Baptist Church and other rarely open sites to the public.

At the end of the hike, participants will be have the opportunity to hear a presentation from Marcia Fairweather about her 15-year section-hike of the A.T. Ms. Fairweather is also a board member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the first African-American to serve in this role.

This hike is not recommended for children under 8 years old. Parental supervision required.

Marcia Fairweather

Please RSVP by June 1st

Hike Difficulty: Moderate; the hike is 1 mile long and short sections cover uneven terrain and rocks, as well as steep steps.

EVENT OVERVIEW:

When: Saturday, June 2, 2012 – 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Where: Appalachian Trail Conservancy

799 Washington Street, Harpers Ferry, WV

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

10:30 a.m. – Orientation

11:00 a.m. – African American History Hike:

Begin at ATC’s Visitor Center –End in historic Lower Town Harpers Ferry.

1:00 p.m. – Lunch: Lunch will be provided for hike participants

1:30 p.m. – “Marcia’s Appalachian Trail Journey”: After lunch, Marcia Fairweather, who completed a section hike of the entire A.T. in 2008, will show a short video about her experience. Both lunch and the presentation will be held in the Allies for Freedom room on the second floor of the HFNHP’s John Brown Museum in historic Lower Town Harpers Ferry.

Click to download the flyer!

Photo By Nkrumiah Frazier

The National Park Trust and our mascot Buddy Bison wants everyone to have an American park experience. We are inviting every family in America to visit a national, state or local park and play outdoors on May 19, 2012! As Buddy Bison says, “Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!”

Last year, nearly 200 mayors coast to coast signed official proclamations and many hosted events in their community parks to celebrate the day. In addition, more than 15,300 families participated.

The vision is simply to remind adults to take a child in their lives to a park – where they can hike a trail, visit a national historic site, or even canoe on a river. American adults live busy and pressure-filled lives – why not give them a reason to take the time to connect a child with an American treasure – a park?

As of this week 45,000 people registered for the event, 45 states participating, plus nearly 200 mayors and the Governors of WV and CO who have signed official proclamations!

Bryce Canyon National Park, May 2012 with Eva Luna (9 months old). She nursed 1/2 the time during the 7 mile hike.

I just got back from a 7 day road trip that started in Denver CO and ended in Berkeley CA. I spent most of my time in Utah. I went to Arches National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Capitol Reef National Park. My favorite was Bryce Canyon. We did the Peek a Boo Trail and it made me cry. But first:

Where are all the damn black folk? I mean, I know it’s Utah, but these are National Parks people! The below video from was filmed at Zion National Park.

Ok, back to the brilliance and beauty of Bryce Canon and nursing for hours while hiking.

When walking the Peek a Boo trail hike, India Arie’s song, “How I know that god is real” kept on circulating through my brain.

Peek a Boo Trail hike is 7 miles. Doesn’t seem like a lot. But add a 20lb baby strapped to your back while carrying 50oz of water in each hand, while going all the way down the canyon then walking all the way back up and you’ve got yourself quite an amazing feat. Oh, and add to that that 20lb baby sucking on you, extracting breast milk 3 hours out of that 6.5 hours it takes to complete that 7 miles because it’s so hot and arid, she is thirsty all the time. I swear, my 9 month old must have sucked out 1000 calories of milk from me per day. She wasn’t used to the high elevation and the arid climate so she was thirsty all the time.

But I loved it. I loved every minute of watching the divine that is Bryce Canyon. I loved the burning of my butt and legs as I went up and down difficult parts of the trail. I loved how my baby girl , when she wasn’t nursing or sleeping, giggled with joy and reached out to touch the rocks, the trees, and my face. At 9 months old, she knew that Bryce Canyon is a very special place.

I notice two significant things during my time in Utah’s National Parks:

(1) Just about everyone I saw commended me for going on a 7 mile hike with a baby strapped to me. I only saw one other family doing this in Bryce Canyon Peek a Boo trail.

(2) There were 2 black people that I saw during my entire 7 day road trip through 5 National Parks in Utah (hence, my video rant).

Okay, so first of all, I am getting the impression that most people think it is impossible to go hiking and or camping with infants and toddlers, without losing your damn mind…and then add that to a 7 day road trip 1/2 across the country with them strapped to the carseats for hours, you’d think that would be a recipe for disaster. But, it’s not. You just have to plan it the right way. My 3 year old and 9 month old loved the trip. They love hiking. My toddler loves camping. My infant doesn’t seem to care where she is as long as she can get her mama milk. I recommend an Ergo carrier. Buy an Ergo cargo pack (for food and diapers) to attach to the carrier for the infant or toddler you want to haul. You can use the Ergo Carrier for a child up to 40lb. It’s light and they can fall asleep with a headrest to cradle their heads. My husband prefers the Deuter hiking system but I think it’s overpriced, heavy, and uncomfortable. The Ergo Carrier can have them on your side, back, or front. Perfect if you are a nursing mama. Deuter can’t do that.

But I have to be up front and say you can’t just do a 7 mile hike like Bryce Canyon, in a hot and high climate, with a baby and water in tow, if you haven’t been working out regularly. Before you embark on something like what I did, practice walking around in an area in your neighborhood that is hilly with your kid strapped on you.

A. Breeze Harper started The Sistah Vegan Project focuses on how plant-based consumptive lifestyle is affected by factors of race, racisms, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and other social injustices within the lives of black females. Breeze Harper is the editor of “Sistah Vegan” (Lantern Books 2010) and a PhD candidate in critical food geographies at UCD.

The National Parks will be FREE to enter April 21-29, 2012 - 

Now is the time to start planning your National Park Week adventure! 

Visit the NPS website focused on the African American experience for more information and to start planning today!

What is your favorite National Park?

Invited by two wonderful National Park Rangers, Raphael and Reggie, we learned so much about the historic Richmond area and engaged in compelling conversation about the rich, complex historic diversity surrounding this part of the Bay Area.

We began the tour noticing some memorial plaques and informational engravings at the meet-up point. Then we hopped on our bikes and visited the Ford Assembly Building; a former Model-A factory which now houses Title Nine Clothing, Mountain Hardware, and SunPower‘s R&D unit, among other new businesses. From this vantage we could also see Shipyard No. 3, the last remaining shipyard from the WWII manufacturing boom of the 1940s.

Back on our bikes, we cruised to the Rosie the Riveter Memorial, an interesting architectural sculpture meant to resemble the hull of a ship. Guided by our expert leaders, the group was encouraged to consider the voices of the “Rosies”; women who worked in these shipyards,  representing many of the first African American settlers in the region who fled the Jim Crow South in search of better opportunities.

We talked about the ways in which the increase of civilian labor associated with WWII opened doors for marginalized groups (women, Blacks, and Asian American workers); many of these individuals were accepted into jobs previously denied to them, although often with a cost.

With an emphasis on discovery and critical thought, as well as enjoying the beautiful Richmond Shoreline, the Rosie the Riveter tour proved an enlightening way to spend a Saturday. Check out their website for more information.

Photo Credit: Irene Nexica

“You shouldn’t have to convince people to go to paradise,”

–Shelton Johnson, Ranger, Yosemite National Park

Although our national parks belong to all Americans, it’s a sad fact that very few people of color ever set foot in some of our country’s most beautiful places. Take a journey to Yosemite National Park with the Amazing Grace 50+ Club, a Los Angeles-based senior church group whose members are looking to reverse that trend.

Click to learn more about efforts to bring more diverse visitors to the parks

Dear Outdoor Afro Friends,

2011 has been a terrific year! Through the power of social media, we have seen our community steadily grow, and help people make culturally-relevant connections to nature and outdoor recreation.

In our second year, Outdoor Afro has a lot to be proud of, and we are so grateful for the organizations and individuals who continue to make a difference to connect African Americans, and everyone to the outdoors.

The following is a selection of some of the fun, people, and inspiration we have enjoyed this year.

Trips

We were proud to partner with California Camp Association to produce our first two trips designed to share the experience of RVing with more Americans. Through a focused media campaign, we were able to tell our story in the mainstream RV industry, and other media, to inspire others by showcasing an alternate and bug-free “base-camp” approach to camping!

In the spring, we were invited to cover beautiful Barbados, and Outdoor Afro correspondent  Danielle Lee, with passport in hand, took on the island and shared with us a wonderful tribute.

This year was also the launch of our first Meet-Up group in Northern California to inform the creation of forthcoming MeetUp groups in other parts of the country. We hosted three test trips this year, each one progressively more successful and fun than the last! We rode bikes through urban centers, discovered new birds right in our backyard, and hiked to the rocky coast line after tasting local cheeses.

Partnerships and Collaborations

From the very beginning, it has been critical for Outdoor Afro to build relationships and partner with local and national organizations that genuinely care about diverse participation in the outdoors. I am especially grateful in 2011 for the work we have been able to do with the East Bay Regional Park’s naturalist Bethany Facedini, the Children in Nature Collaborative,  Urban Tilth, Richmond Spokes, Children and Nature Network, the National Park Service, National Wildlife Federation, and the American Camp Association, to name a few.

Keynote Speaking

In January, I had the pleasure of speaking at the American Camp Association National Conference in San Diego to discuss how camps can recognize and cultivate diversity. For black history month, I was humbled to share a podium in Oakland with National Park ranger, and longtime Bay Area activist Betty Soskin.  In the summer, I shared the importance of relevancy with the National Association for Interpretation in California and in the Delmarva region on the East Coast, I shared with black college students how they might turn their passion into an environmental-related career. Finally in the fall, I headed to Seattle, Washington to have an exciting conversation with the good folks at Groundwire to discuss how we can imagine the role of technology in nature.

Media

This was a terrific media year for Outdoor Afro! We were featured in national and local media outlets such as KQED, NPR; magazines and shows such as Heart and Soul Magazine, Childhood Matters with Nurse Rona Renner, Audubon Magazine, Grist, the LA Times,  and more! We were also glad to be a regular guest blogger for Jack and Jill Politics, whose African American politically saavy readers welcomed us and were inspired to think of vacation in a different way. And in an especially proud moment, we were honored to be distiguished as Best Green/Nature Blog by the Black Weblog Awards:

A Birthday Tribute

In October of this year, I turned 40 – and boy was it fabulous! Thanks to my dear sister, Delane Sims, and friends, a surprise Outdoor Afro fundraiser was thrown at the African American Museum and Library to help send more families to my beloved Feather River Camp, where I camped as a child and still take my family today. That night, I felt surrounded by so much love, and we raised over $1500 to help more urban families experience camp. Check out our photos!

Onward…

As you can see, Outdoor Afro is experiencing a time of growth and it will remain a part of the important conversations and actions to connect more diverse audiences to nature and the outdoors.

And as a fortunate mother of three active children, Seth, Arwen, and Billy — and manager of the grantmaking program at the Foundation for Youth Investment, this work is my life, yet there is no way I could do it alone. I have been blessed to have so many more supporters and allies besides those mentioned here, and whose names would require a separate blog to adequately express my appreciation.

In 2012, expect Outdoor Afro to continue to grow as an organization, while also expanding the conversations, possibilities, and actions to better reflect what America looks like in nature.

Won’t you join me?

Yours in Nature,

Rue Mapp

Founder

At the start of the week, I had the pleasure of leading twenty-four Outdoor Afros on a day trip to Point Reyes National Seashore in California via the local MeetUp group. Many in the group had never visited Point Reyes, in spite of the short drive from where many of the participants live, and our Point Reyes veterans took delight in spending time in the outdoors with a group of people who look like them for the first time.

To prepare for the trip, I tapped into the expertise of Point Reyes visitor guide’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and with their help, mapped out a plan to take advantage of a variety of local offerings to suit our group’s interests and abilities.

Our group began our outing in the center of town at Cowgirl Creamery with a round of warm introductions. There, we were greeted by friendly welcoming staff who offered a variety of artisan cheeses to taste. We learned about the unique techniques of the creamery and the local bacteria in the air that makes Point Reyes cheese special and delicious. After choosing from a variety of tasty lunch options at the creamery, our group headed 15 miles north by car to the Pierce Point Ranch Trail to begin our hike.

The car ride to the trail was bucolic, with rolling hills and dozens of cows scattered over the landscape – a couple of calves had even broke free from their fencing and had claimed the road, allowing our caravan some up close photos.

Further along the road we ran into National Park Ranger John Elby, an African American gentleman who joined our group at the trail head and provided additional insights about the area, and answered our questions. Many were surprised and delighted to see a black ranger (another first for many), and asked him about his chosen career working for the Park Service.

We found the Pierce Point Ranch hike adaptable – the mostly flat turnaround route allowed people in the group to adjust their stroll to their level of comfort and ability. The paved trail was framed by the Pacific Ocean on one side, and Tomales Bay and its hillside farms on the other. We saw some incredible wildlife as well, such as a reserve of Tule Elk, a whale, a weasel, and several raptors circling overhead. The group captured many stunning views in photos. Here are some great pictures captured by social media maven Adria Richards – check them out.

After a brisk hike for many, several group members headed 10-miles down the road by car for an optional visit to Drakes Bay Oyster Farm, the last cannery in California. There we were greeted warmly, sampled small, medium, and large oyster varieties, and received a lesson in oyster shucking. Several Outdoor Afros purchased oysters to enjoy at home.

As the sun began to set to chill the air, our caravan split up to head in the direction of home, inspired by nature, great company, and delicious food.

Outdoor Afro thanks Cowgirl Creamery, Drakes Bay Oyster Farm, National Park Service Ranger John Elby, Adria Richards for all these amazing photos, and the enthusiastic participants who each reported back the wonderful and fulfilling time they had in nature. Outdoor Afro Sunnie said, “It was a beautiful hike. Everyone in the group was so friendly and warm. I had a great time.”

I could not agree more.

Of course, being me, I thought of nature – the outdoors, and found it almost ironic how Occupy protesters in my hometown of Oakland, and in every urban hub, were also making themselves sustainably visible in protest by camping outdoors in public plazas all over the country. An ironic twist on the Great American Campout!

As I sat at home with my children following on Twitter the frightening turn of events happening in Oakland recently, I also contemplated what alternatives we might find to affirm (Occupy) peace in our everyday lives. How might we balance the economic pain that has touched us all in some way?

With African American participation clocked as low as 1% in the National Park System, I thought of the 99% of people who look like you and me; those who do not benefit from this public and important resource that holds the possibility of personal enrichment and sustainability in ways hard to quantify in dollars.

Therefore, though Outdoor Afro, it is my goal to help generate a future where people of every hue know that not only public plazas, but also parks and wild spaces are their inheritance, and theirs to benefit from and support.

What might that look like?

Here is the follow-up from Balanced Rock Foundation’s  Women of Color Backpacking Trip we wrote about last summer – check out all the fun they had!

The 2011 Women of Color Backpacking Trip participants knocked my socks off, and they went straight into the washing machine!  We had a professional videographer and photographer who is also the mother of the two cutest twins I know; an esteemed aerialist; a nearly 50-year-old “Bike Diva” takin’ some just-shipped-her-daughter-off-to-college time; and a smart and practical sister who has become a mother by taking charge of her two young nephews. Plus, there were two instructors with enigmatic pasts…

The  trip for 2011 was incredibly fun and engaging.  The conversations were often so compelling that I had to remind myself that we were on a backpacking trip.  We often discussed how things run back in the default world, and offered reinterpretations of how things could be.  I felt honored to be among these women of color in nature.

As usual, we all worked together to prepare the meals and perform other camp duties.  What was funny was that three of the participants were mothers, and the fourth was self-described as having OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).  So things got done! We joked that Balanced Rock should start a screening process, so that future trips would run as smoothly!

Our destination was Ostrander Lake in Yosemite National Park.  We spent one night in the Bridalveil Creek campground, which is near our trailhead.  It was a surprise that there was a lightning-started fire nearby, which was controlled, but allowed to burn.  That’s how they do things these days in Yosemite, after years of snuffing out all fires.  It was smoky on the road, and we constantly debated the wisdom of sticking to our itinerary in the days leading up to the trip.  We stuck to it, and it turned out alright.  We did end up wearing bandannas like rogue desperados, but that was just for one day.

We took two days to get to Ostrander Lake, and found a deluxe campsite along the way to set up shop for the night.  There was a lot of laughter and camaraderie along the way, and we found a fine balance between getting to our destination and enjoying the journey.

Once we got to the lake, it was refreshing to dip in, as well as a plentiful source of water to sustain us.  There is a busy campground at the lake, but we opted for a more primitive spot where we could be more secluded.  We were lucky enough to encounter the Ostrander Ski Hut occupied by NPS rangers on a break.  We introduced ourselves and got a tour of the facility.  It is such a great place to ski to during the winter months.