Greetings Outdoor Afros:
I’m Morgan Powell and this is my fifth blog here at Outdoor Afro.  I’m the founder of Bronx River Sankofa – a documentary series on Cable TV and Facebook featuring African-American environmentalists from New York City’s greenest borough.  Many male Harlem Renaissance writers and other 20th century brothers-on-a-soap-box wrote about the invisible man phenomenon or mistaken identity in general stemming from low expectations by others of men of African descent.  The playful piece you are about to read contrasts a photo-documentary of my busiest days when I was  …

Congratulations to our video contest winner, Outdoor Afro Miles Maxey who showed off the fun of the Jim Dandy Ski Club, an African American adventure club, on the Huron River in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Miles is the winner of a pair of KEEN shoes for sharing such a wonderful and fun connection to nature!
Watch!
This blog and contest was sponsored by the Georgia River Network

Survey Confirms a Positive Relationship with Rivers and Waterways in the Outdoor Afro community
Nearly seventy Outdoor Afros from around the country were sampled in a short survey distributed via social networks that provided a snapshot of how and why people connect to our waterways.
Much of what was observed from the results confirmed what Outdoor Afro already knew – that in the Outdoor Afro community overall, there is a positive relationship and perception of our rivers and waterways. Of the sample surveyed, the vast majority were African American, female, and between …

Submitted by Morgan Powell, a landscape designer, who edits Bronx River Sankofa on You Tube and Facebook.  He is passionate about New York’s Bronx River and its African American heritage. Here is his third submission in a series to highlight the generous yet delicate resource of the Bronx River and African American engagement with our environment as a whole.
 

This blog will address four decades in the life of a ghetto park’s stages of development. We’ll recognize some of the local leadership whose initiative was founded by a white Catholic activist in …

Morgan Powell is  a landscape designer who edits Bronx River Sankofa on You Tube and Facebook.  He is passionate about New York’s Bronx River and its African American heritage. Here is Morgan’s second submission in a three-part series to highlight the generous yet delicate resource of the Bronx River:
I’ve just  taken my fellow Whole Communities alumni Audrey and Frank Peterman’s  challenge to enjoy my local natural treasures.  The Petermans wrote the Outdoor Afro classic Legacy on the Land.  I saw a vast natural place outside of my normal travel patterns both arresting …

This has been a phenominal week for media coverage, and the Outdoor Afro community is thrilled about ABC-7 coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area that not only accurately highlighted who we are and our key messages, but also shared great images of folks enjoying nature! Special thanks to ABC reporter Ken Miguel who spent so much time with us on the American River and interpreted the experience perfectly!
Take a look!

Who’s ready to bridge Earth Day with African American History Month all year round? Keep it locked on Bronx River Sankofa at Facebook where we also do that and love Outdoor Afro!
Let’s keep it real. From Zora Neale Hurston’s Eatonville Florida to Harlem NY’ s Marcus Garvey Park and vanished Senaca Village within Central Park, who writes the history of places helps shape their development and their accessibility to citizens and audiences. Let all with the capacity and access take the glorious burden of writing about the lands they trod.  …

The warmth of late summer offers a promise of cool lakes, rivers, oceans, and backyard pools to cool us down, but unfortunately it seems many folks never jump in them. The Outdoor Afro community has taken note of a recent rash of outdoor related posts and videos these days that start with “Black people don’t…” but we find this language seems to get in the way of understanding the complex realities and history of African Americans and our waterways.

Yet some statistics are stark. Too many black folks avoid the water …

This weekend, about two dozen Outdoor Afros came together to camp and whitewater raft on the lower fork of the American River. Inspired by our wonderful time with American Whitewater Expeditions (AWE) last year, we decided to return with more folks, and boy did we have a terrific time!

Our ABC local affiliate came out to cover the event, where many of the participants were interviewed to help dispel the myth that we don’t engage with our waterways.

About half of us came the evening before, where AWE had set for us enough tents …

We sure hope not!
Earlier this year, I was so excited to present in Atlanta for Keeping it Wild to share how outdoor organizations might be more relevant through meaningful partnerships. I appreciated the candor and honesty of the audience, many of whom took the time to share their successes and challenges when working with organizations and communities to connect more people, especially black people, to the outdoors.
Take this short quiz to share what rivers and waterways mean to you: Click to Enter
Check out how one mother connects her family to the river:

One participant, …