 100vw, 610px”/>photo courtesy sy of Outdoor Afro</p>
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Mapp challenges the idea that nature is only for white people. In 2009, she founded Outdoor Afro, a blog to “reconnect Black people with the outdoors through education, recreation and outdoor conservation.” Today, Outdoor Afro is a national nonprofit operating in 60 cities with more than 100 volunteers guiding 60,000 participants on everything from forest walks to bird hikes to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
“It wasn’t part of our national narrative to even think about black people and their connection to nature, so I set out to change the narrative about who we think is going outside,” Mapp told the Vermont Conversation.
The problem is not in nature.
“Nature is inviting. The trees don’t know what color you are. The flowers will bloom no matter how much money is in your account. The birds will sing no matter who you chose. So nature is not to blame. It’s just people and guidelines,” she said.
Mapp was referring to the Jim Crow era, when public pools and recreation areas had “Whites Only” signs. One consequence: Black children did not learn to swim and drown up to ten times more often than white children.
“Besides this exclusion, besides this obviously racist reality, there was a persistence by black people to find their destinations in nature,” Mapp said. In 2019, Outdoor Afro launched an initiative to teach 100,000 black children and their caregivers to swim.
 100vw, 610px”/>Rue Mapp. Photo courtesy of Rue Mapp</p>
<p>Mapp’s efforts have garnered her national attention. She was invited by the White House to attend the America’s Great Outdoors conference and attended the launch of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative. She’s taken Oprah Winfrey hiking and canoeing with the Home Secretary. Mapp is a National Geographic Fellow, Heinz Awards Honoree and recipient of the National Wildlife Federation Communication Award.</p>
<p>Rue Mapp has published a new book, Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors. It is a collection of essays and photos by Black people intended to “inspire Black communities to reclaim their place in the natural world.”</p>
<p>When facing a challenge or just in daily life, Mapp wants black people to “recognize the power of nature as a healer and a connector.” </p>
<p>“Nature never closes,” she said.
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