First U.S. All-Black Expedition To Ascend Mount Kilimanjaro In June
Rue Mapp just wanted to have fun outdoors. When she couldn’t find a peer group to play with, she created one! Her natural spirit of leadership gave birth to Outdoor Afro, “a group designed to connect Black people with nature and change the face of leadership in the outdoors.” Leadership is what excites Mapp most about her organization.
Born as a blog in Oakland, California in 2009, Mapp’s seed of inspiration has grown into a dynamic nationwide outdoor leadership network that is about to make history by sending the first all-Black expedition team from the U.S. (support staff, porters, and climbers) to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The team is comprised of extra-ordinary Americans who, like Mapp, simply decided to do something.
Mapping Wildlife, Vegetation and Climate
Rue Mapp is a trailblazer of epic proportions. It’s no wonder Men’s Journal just named her one of the “18 most adventurous people in the world.” Connecting deeply with nature is also about connecting deeply with ourselves. Mapp reflected on the outdoor experiences that pushed her to create Outdoor Afro.
"In the beginning, I was the only chocolate chip in the cookie and I didn't have the space to be me.” When she discovered the multi-cultural cycling group, the Oakland Yellow Jackets, she felt like she had come home. “I will never forget the first time I saw women that looked like me riding bikes with Italian components!"
Experiences form our perceptions, and when we take our experiences for granted, we leave no room for people with a different set of experiences to be fully present. Loving the outdoors, and tired of being “the only one,” Mapp set out to change that. She harnessed the power of the internet, bringing people together and inspiring them to do the same. “The environment” is more than the wild places we love. It’s people, communities, choices, air, water, transportation, education, jobs, policies, and access.
That structure is paying big dividends. Outdoor Afro’s leadership network now has more than 60 leaders in 28 states from around the country. They have connected thousands of people to outdoor experiences. People who are changing the face of conservation.
"We weren’t born in the old paradigm,” Mapp said. “We don’t have a diversity and inclusion problem. We have the advantage of continuing to build on an asset-based narrative. We can, and we should, storm City Hall from time to time, but Outdoor Afro is really about connecting, and loving community. We are not in ‘resistance to,’ but are building on the joy."
Going Deep and Aiming High
Like a thriving old-growth forest, rich with nutrients and complexity, perfectly tuned to nurture growth through interdependency, Mapp sees a world of opportunity to bridge the supply and demand economies of outdoor recreation and African-American spending power in ways that create real change.
Meanwhile, there are mountains to climb! The Kilimanjaro expedition team is in its final weeks of preparation for the adventure of a lifetime. To paraphrase 27-year-old team-member Alora Jones:
“We’re our ancestors’ wildest dreams. Let’s aim high and make them proud.”
Sign at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro
