By Everett Potter

The current Covid-19 crisis has led to a huge increase in the number of people heading for the great outdoors for a weekend or week of camping, hiking, and exploring. Despite what many outdoor websites and catalogs might lead you to believe, not all of those heading outside are white middle and upper-middle-class folks at the wheel of a Volvo. Enter Rue Mapp, the Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, whose tag line is “Where Black People & Nature Meet.” She heads this national not-for-profit organization with offices in Oakland, CA, and Washington, D.C. and oversees a carefully selected and trained national volunteer leadership team of nearly 90 men and women who represent 30 states around the US. They share opportunities to build a broader community and leadership in nature. I recently caught up with her to ask her about her remarkable organization …

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