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WNC Business

Black Folks Camp Too

Oct 04, 2022 09:26AM ● By Randee Brown

Earl B. Hunter Jr. didn’t grow up in an outdoorsy family. Even while attending college at Appalachian State University in Boone, the beauty and wilderness didn’t call to him.

“I was never invited on any kind of outdoor adventure,” he said. As an adult, though, Hunter felt that calling, and when he finally had friends invite him and show him a good time out in nature, Earl was hooked.

While working as the Vice President of Sales at Brevard’s SylvanSport RV & Camping Trailer Company, Hunter noticed that the majority of his customers were white. After years of this trend, his curiosity to find out why led to him founding Black Folks Camp Too, a business that works to build equality and inclusivity in the great outdoors. 

Based in WNC, Black Folks Camp Too envisions the great outdoors as a place that is appreciated and protected by all, regardless of race, gender, or age. Hunter believes that the more people are out enjoying the natural beauty of the WNC mountains, the better maintained and protected the lands will be.

After an extensive road trip with his son covering 20 states, two Canadian provinces, and 49 campgrounds, Earl was shocked that he encountered only one other black family camping. He wanted to do something to improve this, but before he could get down to the how, when, who, and what, he had to figure out the why.

After putting in hours of time and many dollars in research, data confirmed his theory.

“It’s generational trauma,” Hunter said. “Stories from my great grandmother had been passed down about finding folks who had wandered off into the woods lynched. We were taught that the woods were a dangerous place. Not only that, when my grandparents were young, some state and national parks were segregated. These are a couple of reasons why you rarely see Black folks out in nature.”

Hunter created Black Folks Camp Too to educate the industry and the public about why Black people don’t get outdoors. The business’s mission is to encourage more people of color, and really everyone, to get outside and enjoy the outdoors together. According to Hunter, its logo, appropriately named the Unity Blaze, was designed to help people signal to the world that they treat everyone equally.

“We’re not called ‘Black Folks Camp’; that would signify that we are only talking to Black folks,” Hunter said. “The ‘Too’ means ‘also and as well’, and we truly want everybody to feel comfortable and safe enjoying nature. We want to build trust in the outdoor community.”

The purpose of Black Folks Camp Too is more than encouraging people to have fun outside. Hunter believes that when people aren’t interested in something, they don’t want their resources going to support that. “We’ve got to get folks out enjoying these public lands, the lands that are theirs,” he said. “If they don’t use the land, one day people may stop wanting to pay for it. If folks don’t know anything about public lands, they won’t be ambassadors for public lands. They could ask for their tax dollars to be appropriated elsewhere. Some may not think it’s possible for a giant condo to be built on the side of Looking Glass Rock, but it could be a real possibility in generations to come.”

"The more people we have appreciating our parks and public lands and the more unity we have within the outdoor community, the more willing people are going to be to ensure and maintain their protection," Hunter said. "We need to protect the things that people come to this area for."

Training and educating outdoor industry specialists on how to market to people of color is a priority for Black Folks Camp Too. “The invitation and welcome is where outdoor industry businesses are failing,” Hunter said. “If businesses do more to learn how to include, invite, and market to people of color, the industry as a whole can start to see a difference.”

BFCT is not a nonprofit organization, and does not accept donations. Black Folks Camp Too creates gear and products to generate a retail income to support their social work and training. Footwear insoles, socks, and swag with the Unity Blaze are available at retailers like REI, Public Lands, ​​Great Outdoor Provision Co., and on their website to generate revenue for their mission. 

While the company has large goals, Hunter actually hopes Black Folks Camp Too doesn’t last forever. “If we go out of business, we’ve done our job,” he said. “That would mean that we have reached our goal of equality and diversity in the industry and lifestyle, and there will be a continued appreciation of and protection for public lands, parks, and wilderness areas into future generations. We hope to change the world, one campfire at a time.”

Learn more at BlackFolksCampToo.com.

Photo Credit: Steve Reinhold