Surviving in the wilderness is not new to African Americans, but you’d never guess it by the lack of black people on the trails in and around Madison.
This is changing. People of color across the country are reconnecting with their rich outdoor heritage.
On May 25-29, M. Adams, co-executive director of Freedom Inc. and two of her co-workers, will join this trend by exploring a rugged section of the Georgia-Appalachian Trail.
On foot.
Carrying everything they need on their backs.
Their journey will start at Hightower Gap and conclude at Neals Gap, covering approximately 22.4 miles. Along the trail they’ll conquer the tallest peak on the Georgia portion of the trail, Blood Mountain Summit, sitting at 4,458 feet above sea level.
The event is being organized by Black Freedom Outfitters, a black and female-owned company that specializes in offering trips that reconnect black people to their outdoor roots. Their website features Matthew Henson, who in 1909, was the first African-American explorer to reach the North Pole. Henson is one of the many black outdoor heroes that were largely left out of history books leaving many to believe that black folks just didn’t participate in outdoor activities.
Paris Hatcher wants to change that.
She is one of the owners at Black Freedom Outfitters and one of the leaders of this adventure. Hatcher and Zahra Alabanza started Black Freedom Outfitters to curate unique, outdoor adventures that provide one-of-a-kind experiences for black people to explore and lead in the great outdoors. Their trips feature places of meaning to black people.
Hatcher explained: “This hike, called ‘Follow the Drinking Gourd: Blacksploration along the Appalachian Trail,’ intends to create space for black folks to traverse self-sufficiently through time and space with all of the necessary items needed on our backs; including food, water, clothing, and shelter. We will slowly and intentionally move through the Georgia Mountains practicing and learning practical, hands-on skills while increasing our individual and collective awareness about our ever changing environments, strength, courage and ability all while honoring our ancestors that often walked 10-20 miles a day to gain their freedom from enslavement.”
The trip gets its name from the folk tradition that says that fugitive slaves used the drinking gourd, the code name for the big dipper constellation, as a guide while seeking freedom to the north.
The message of self-sufficiency and resiliency resonated with Adams. She met Hatcher while in Brazil at the Association for Women’s Development International Conference in September last year.
“I realized that my work of freedom, as a black queer feminist, needed to live not only in my community work, but also in my body, and that I needed to practice my values in physical ways that connects me back to mother nature,” she said. “What we learn in the outdoors — how to care for one another, challenge ourselves, condition our bodies and spirit, connect to land that was sacred to our ancestors and to learn those her stories — will extend to the work here in the community.”
Adams will travel with Freedom Inc. team members Bianca Gomez and Jessica Williams. Gomez is a graduate student in African American Studies at UW-Madison and a project manager. Williams is a domestic violence advocate. They will be joined in Georgia by eight other like-minded souls, including the tour manager and two hike leaders.
For Adams, this will be her first nature experience.
“I grew up in Milwaukee. We went outside, but not to parks. I have never been to a state park. As an adult in college, we drove through the mountains and looked at them through the windows,” Adams said. “I’m excited about pushing myself in the outdoors. This is blowing my mind. We are going to sleep outside. There are animals. There will be no showers. And, we’ll be with amazing people, Oh, did I say, no showers! Oh my God!”
Gomez had slept outside in her grandmother’s backyard as a child. She also enjoyed going on pretend hiking adventures with her brother where they dug up worms and pretended to fish in their little tykes pool.
Williams comes with the most outdoor experience. She grew up camping in Arizona with her family.
“My mom was born in Mississippi and was a country girl,” she said. “She was always outdoors and encouraged us. When I grew up I did a solo backpacking trip in Southeast Asia for four months. I spent time in Borneo and hiked through the rain forest.
“Since coming to Madison five years ago, I haven’t camped much. It’s mostly white families out here camping, but I felt safe,” she added.
To prepare for the rigors of the trip, they are taking hikes, doing squats and stretching. They are also doing things to be spiritually ready.
“I’ve heard that it can be overwhelming to be in nature for the first time, so I want to be ready for that,” Adams said. She is preparing herself spiritually by centering and engaging in ritual practices that encourage strength, exploration and fierceness. In addition, the group is reading up on the flora and fauna of the area and about others who have done similar hikes. Adams admits that taking this trip is a big deal for someone who has never spent time in nature before.
“We had a prep call and I learned that we’ll have to get our own water. There’s no water faucet,” she said. “I’m like what? We also have to tie our food up in a tree to keep it away from bears. That scares me a little.”
Adams sees the trip as a leadership development opportunity for the staff that will strengthen their sisterhood and kinship and lead to stronger relationships. She also hopes that they can take what they’ve learned and do something similar at home.
“We can teach these skills to the group,” she said.
This is an important part of the trip’s attraction for Adams.
Hatcher explained that black people have needed to know how to survive off the beaten path for centuries.
“Now more than ever, black people must expand our knowledge, awareness, and skills,” she said. “Our survival will depend on having the option to self-sustain. Mountains were often used by enslaved Africans escaping enslavement. There are records of slaves fleeing north through the Adirondack Mountains toward Canada, and establishing free black communities in mountainous areas such as Timbuctoo.”
Between 1800 and 1855, Timbuctoo was a small African-American hamlet in the Adirondack Mountains.
But the trip is much more than survival. Adams and her group want to have fun, too.
The trip allows time for nature study and reflection and for one day of “foresting” with no hiking. This day allows participants a much-needed day rest, journal, learn about plants and their medicinal and nutritional qualities, swim or do nothing. They are looking forward to that.
For now, the group is still in need of equipment and financial support. If you have working equipment in good condition that you would like to donate or loan to the group, please check the equipment list and contact M. Adams at [email protected] to find out what they are missing. Or, make a monetary donation to their GoFundMe.
