Earth Day: AfroCamp
The outdoors can often be a barrier for many people, particularly Black, Indigenous, people of color. Despite people of color making up over 42% of the total U.S. population, close to 70 percent of people who visit national forests, national wildlife refuges, and national parks are white (source: National Health Foundation). Black people continue to be the most underrepresented group in these spaces by a landslide. We have a lot of work to do to provide more equity in the outdoor industry. One woman has begun to counter the inequity by creating a space where Black grown folks can find one day of refuge to thrive in the outdoors. Her name is Rachelle Olden and she is the Founder of AfroCamp.
AfroCamp is an all-inclusive, summer camp for “grown Black folks”. In its inaugural year on September 11, 2021 outside of Seattle, Washington, 150 Black folks (based predominantly in the Pacific Northwest) indulged in summer camp fun - a climbing tower, giant swing, archery, kayaks, Olympics, yoga, a lakeside day-party, hiking, bonfire and tons more! It was and is a vibe, a culture and a community. For Founder, Rachelle Olden she wanted a safe space for Black people to cultivate community, new interests and friendships with other Black people regardless of profession, sexuality, physical ability, religion and age. It is a safe space in the outdoors to celebrate Blackness. The entire experience was curated by Black people with Black vendor support. It was also about more visibility hence why Rachelle reached out to TONL to be the official photo partner of AfroCamp powered by REI Co-op.
“It was extremely difficult finding stock images for such an experience and thought, it would be dope to see Black people connecting, cultivating and celebrating Blackness in TONL”, Rachelle explained. REI Co-op also recognized the gaps of showcasing diverse consumers that spend time in the outdoors and wanted to amplify that by offering diverse outdoor travel imagery starting with AfroCamp.
In honor of Earth Day today we’ve published a collection of 50 images from AfroCamp sponsored by REI to provide more visibility of Black people in the outdoor space. Shop the images below or click here ! To learn more about AfroCamp visit www.afrocamps.com. Happy Earth Day!