The Weekly - July 7, 2020 - 8

The Pulse
# W E A R E C O M M U N I T Y

To watch
the full interview
with Rue Mapp,
click on this
photo.

Constant Inspiration

Rue Mapp has grown Outdoor Afro in a community of 40,000 enthusiasts and nature
lovers. Here's how she shares what she loves.
Name: Rue Mapp
Company: Outdoor Afro
Title: Founder and CEO
Founded: 2009
Location: Vallejo, California
Downlow: Outdoor Afro, which

Rue Mapp started as a blog in
2009, celebrates and inspires
African American connections to nature via trained and
recruited leaders who take people hiking, biking, and camping in 30 states. The network
is now almost 40,000 people
strong. Mapp and Outdoor Afro
won an Outdoor Retailer Inspiration Award in 2013, and, this
year, she is serving as a judge
for the 10th annual awards.

When I received that award, it

was this huge stamp of not
just validation, but, 'We see
you; we're cheering you on.'

I have seen over these years
of continued engagement
with the outdoor industry
and the Inspiration Awards
that kind of encouragement
is really critical, especially
when you're just starting out.
It gave me the confidence
to move forward and open
more doors of opportunity.
We don't know what the end of
this [pandemic] story is. All we

know is the way we connect
into the community looks
different, and it probably will
remain different.
People embraced nature and
their parks and their neighborhoods unlike we've ever seen.

We've been talking about how
more people should connect
and how they could-and
people figured out the answer.

8 THE WEEKLY / OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2020

What I saw in my own neighborhood was this renaissance

We do this work because we
love the outdoors, and we

of kids getting outside,
parents getting outside on
bicycles and roller blades.
It felt like time had rolled
back to an era where people
had been enjoying nature
as families. To see groups
of children that you may
not have even known lived
in your neighborhood out
on bicycles or on walks has
been incredibly inspiring.

love community.

At Outdoor Afro, what we
did was dig in and share our
expertise with people so
they could create their own
outdoor experiences, on
their own terms, in their own
backyards, in their own communities-and help people to
understand nature and the
outdoors are everywhere.

While our businesses may be
radically affected, we can

turn to the resiliency we see
in nature. We can turn to the
example of changing seasons
to know winter doesn't last
always. We can turn to one
another at this time. It may
be digitally, but we still have
community. Those connections are not going anywhere, just like nature isn't.
I look at my lazy pit bull laying
out on the grass; the birds still

sing. I have a deep compassion for the ways people are
suffering, but I am also holding hope for nature to win
and for our connections to
nature to prevail.
https://youtu.be/yNO3NGot_28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNO3NGot_28& http://www.outdoorafro.com
The Weekly - July 7, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Weekly - July 7, 2020
