On Black Joy
By Latria Graham
Often Black voices in the outdoor industry are called upon to talk about JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) initiatives—and little else. What many fail to remember is that most adventurers come to this space not to make a statement, but because they genuinely enjoy the outdoors. Here are five Black explorers living in different parts of the country giving you their perspectives on how they see themselves, what they love about the environments in which they recre- ate, and the dreams they have for themselves and this industry.
Allison Williams (@sizzlemayfield)
LOCATION: Charleston, South Carolina
PRONOUNS: She/Her, They/Them
“I’m outside and I don’t care who’s around because this land is for everyone.”
My role in the outdoors is one of acceptance and enjoyment. I don’t go outside to take Instagram-worthy pictures; I go to enjoy the expansive nature that makes me smile and sweat at the same time. I’m a nomad, and where I recreate changes a lot. I’m from Kansas, but I live in the South. I love driving to the beach 12 minutes from my apartment, but I also relate to visiting home in Wichita, Kansas, and seeing an expanse of open land. I’ve lived in Las Vegas too, and the dramatic rocky landscape that surrounds the city is so untouched by tourists. I volunteered and camped and soaked up these lands when I lived out West. I love experiencing the out- doors in every state and country I visit. I’m outside because that is my choice. I’m outside because I want to connect with the land I am on. I’m outside and I don’t care who’s around because this land is for everyone. My outdoor dreams center on traveling out of the country and spending time in Africa. I love the continent. In 2019, I went on a NOLS wilderness backpacking and cultural immersion trip to Tanzania. Our group backpacked about 40 miles around the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage site. That trip was more than I could have ever imagined. I never even thought of visiting this place before I decided to take that trip. I visited Zanzibar at the end of my trip, and the colors of the ocean, island, people, and history are forever imprinted into my brain. I want to visit more countries and coastal areas in Africa. As a dedicated, passionate yogi, I know yoga will take me back to the continent. It really hits my soul when locals in these spaces ask where I’m from and I tell them, and then they say, “welcome home.”
Cherisa Hawkins (@switchbackshawty)
LOCATION: Atlanta, Georgia
PRONOUNS: She/Her
“I want to work with brands that respect my creative vision and are willing to expand how they document other cultures and how they recreate outdoors.”
What I absolutely love the most about Mother Nature is that everyone is welcome outdoors. We are all a part of this environment. Not everyone in the BIPOC community has the luxury of feeling comfortable being outdoors, and I had to find the courage to show my skills around others when I recreate and to not make myself smaller in order to keep from standing out. I had to build my confidence in the outdoors so that I could love it even more. In the outdoors, I’m not forced into a specific place or role. Mother Nature doesn’t care if I’m a great photographer, storyteller, or if I struggle to get inspired and completely slack off for the day—just because. Admittedly, I have struggled with that in the past, and I’m working to just be OK with figuring it out. I’ve given myself so much anxiety comparing my- self to others on social media and where my talents fall. After some time, I realized that I was often comparing myself to my white coun- terparts and their progress. Not only people who have done it longer, but people who are valued more in the industry by outdoor brands. I have had to learn how to reevaluate my own worth and learn how to pass on me- diocre offers. I feel like I’m getting to a better place with that. Enjoying the outdoors is not a singular thing. You don’t have to just love to hike or simply be a camper, climber, or mountain biker. You don’t even have to be particularly good at it. I mean, I even changed my Instagram name to @switchbackshawty because I suck at switchbacks and struggle with elevation sickness. Since I was a child, I can distinctly remember wanting to travel the world: Iceland, Banff, Maine, Africa … it doesn’t matter. Anywhere, everywhere. Once I became drawn more and more to the outdoors, I quickly realized I never saw myself in those spaces. So, my dream now encompasses sharing my experiences to help change that. I want to work with brands that respect my creative vision and are willing to expand how they document other cultures and how they recreate outdoors. Eventually, my dream will be accomplished, and that other little girl will see more Black and brown people who look like her in outdoor spaces.
Christopher Joe (@theadventuresof_ breeze, @birdsandnaturetours)
LOCATION: Newbern, Alabama
PRONOUNS: He/His
“I see my role in this ecosystem as one of conduction: I am a person who enjoys nature and its benefits, and I help others reconnect to those things.”
I love deer hunting season on our property— sitting in my deer stand in the dark, inhaling the crisp morning air and the way my world smells right before the sun rises. The sky starts to turn a purple color, and the first signs of light come into my space. My spot is located on a creek with a ditch that intersects it. I’m surrounded by the sound of slow-moving water and the staggered awakening of the woods as birds start to chirp and owls go to hooting. Time seems to melt. The hours turn to minutes and then slow to a drip and to a slow tick. That’s the best feeling I can get in the outdoors, and I refuse to give that up. As a person of color, I don’t see people that look like me on major television networks and in major outdoor magazines. Those absences—the willful disregard by mainstream outlets—led me to start my own business, Connecting With Birds And Nature Tours LLC in October of 2018. I see my role in this ecosystem as one of conduction; I am a person who enjoys nature and its benefits, and I help others reconnect to those things. I love the unhindered sounds that nature provides—from the birds to the sound of water in the creek and even the moo of cows in the pasture. I live in the heart of the Black Belt region of Alabama—a place known for its rich, black topsoil—on our 200-acre multigenerational farm. I use my YouTube channel to share videos of the day-to-day activities on our farm, as well as to help people learn more about the wildlife conservation we do here. I create these things in hopes that fellow people of color and their children can see someone who looks like them doing outdoor activities and farming the land. I would like major companies to sponsor some of the work I do and give us the coverage that will help me accomplish my goal of expanding who is represented outside.
Myishia Haynes (@glitterandgills)
LOCATION: Northern California
PRONOUNS: She/Her
“I’m a bad girl with a mermaid attitude on the water, and I love it.”
I absolutely love nature and, by extension, water. As soon as I put on my backpack, grab my rods, and begin my journey to its edges or lower my body into my kayak, I instantly feel a sense of peace and an abundance of posi- tive energy. There’s no negative noise, only the sound of native birds, the cracklings of leaves and the grass beneath my feet as the water ripples outward. With everything that has been going on in the world today—specifically COVID-19 and the inequalities within the Black community—being at the water’s edge or out on the water is a much-needed getaway in order to maintain my mental health. As a woman, I’m often looked at as an observer of fishing. At first glance, people think, “maybe she’s just hanging out with her hus- band while he fishes.” Even more irritating is when men decide to give me fishing tips as if I don’t know what I’m doing when, in fact, I’m probably a better angler than they are. I’ve been fishing my whole life, and my husband fell in love with the undertaking because he would accompany me and I went to the water all the time. Just because I like to look cute while fishing doesn’t mean I’m not baiting my own hooks, ripping large bass out the water, or grabbing catfish by the gills with my bare hands. I’m a bad girl with a mermaid attitude on the water, and I love it. My favorite moment to date happened when I was fishing in Clearlake, California—my favorite body of water to fish in so far. I was
on fire, catching huge bluegills larger than my hand back-to-back on my catfish rod—I mean they were literally bending my rod, giving great fights. After my 24th catch or so, I figured I would throw a frozen shad on since I was almost limited out, and boom—something hits my line in the same bluegill spot, but at full tug-of-war strength. I thought maybe it was a big catfish, but the fight was a little different. I’m fighting to reel him in, and the fish wildly jumps out the water, shaking his head, and I now know it’s a huge largemouth bass. My excitement level has shot through the roof. Once I finally got him reeled in, I released him back to the water. At that point, I was hooked on bass fishing, and it’s taken on a presence of its own.
Justin Forrest Parks (@forrest_in_the_forrest)
LOCATION: Lander, Wyoming
PRONOUNS: They, Elle, Ki, Kin
“I want to fight back against this notion that you must be a city person or a rural one.”
Everybody wants this big, sparkling, grandiose, life-changing moment about learning to love the outdoors. Sometimes it’s not one moment; it can be a series of small ones. I would go outside when I was a kid, and, in the fall, I would rake the leaves and jump into the pile. During spring and summer, there were a couple of weeds on the sidewalk. I’d check them out, learn what they were, see if they were edible, and maybe make a little food. I started making dandelion pesto and drinking dandelion tea. There was this tree on my block, and, when they cut it down, it hurt me deeply. I’m always paying attention to plants. In Chicago, that meant pay- ing attention to and learning the names of things others might consider insignificant. In Wyoming, I step outside and there’s tons of biodiversity. Both places have value. The traditional model people want is this: I came to the outdoors via a sport or something to engage in that took me places. Earlier in my life, that was rock climbing, and later on, it was mountaineering. I started rock climbing after an international trip. When I got back to Chicago, my group of friends realized there was no outdoor rock climbing here for the most part. So we went down to Kentucky or up to Wisconsin. We wanted to be outside. We wanted to explore. Every time I was out there, I fell in love again. It could be raining and maybe we wouldn’t get to climb, but we had fun—we were happy to be there and just had a great time with each other. Both stories are true. When I moved out West, things got whiter in terms of access and wider in terms of landscape. I started to notice this colonial view, this idea that people must conquer things— usually the concept of wilderness. They don’t realize how rooted in oppression and violence that is. They want to make wild places serve them. One of the things about this space that gets me a little messed up is it feels as if the outdoor industry only allows you to be one thing. It’s like, “I am a climber to death, and that’s all I can be.” I climb easy sometimes and I climb hard other times. Sometimes I hike slowly so I can get the views. I studied cinematography, so I’m always thinking about scenery.
My outdoor dream would be to head back to the hood and educate those there. I want to fight back against this notion that you must be a city person or a rural one. I feel as if claiming either means I must sacrifice parts of myself. That isn’t accurate. I want the people from my community back in Chicago to have the same realization that the beauty of life is all around them every time they walk out of the house. I think in outdoor education, we mix it up sometimes. We think people must do these long multiday or multiweek trips in order to get it. But they can get it in the garden, by birding, by nature bathing. We’re visual creatures; that’s only one aspect though. As a photographer and a cinematographer, I love that, but Istill need to touch. Istill want to taste. I now—regardless of where they are—there’s so much to learn from the land.