canoeing

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Profiles

Mississippi Solo: Eddy Harris

In 1988, Eddy Harris published his first book, Mississippi Solo, an account of his canoe trip down the entire length of the river. Thirty years later Harris canoed the Mississippi for a second time, to see what changes had come to the river that “symbolizes who we are as a nation and as a people.”

“When people learn that I’ve canoed the length of the Mississippi River twice, they immediately want to know why,” Harris writes. “Why would I want to canoe the river in the first place? And then, why in the world would I do it again?”

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5 Min
silhouetted man paddling a canoe in a river
Profiles

Why We Must: On Diversity in the Outdoors by Eddy Harris

“It’s easy to imagine that Black Americans don’t ski, don’t fly-fish for trout, don’t camp out, don’t kayak or surf, and don’t appreciate nature – don’t do a lot of things. Somewhere along the way, the Black experience, at least in the eyes of so many people – Blacks included – became an urban phenomenon, as if living in cities precludes the desire and possibility of re-creating in the great outdoors and appreciating the natural environment.

I have done all of those activities, and then some. I fish, I camp, I hike in the woods, I hike in the mountains. I even like opera. I have canoed the length of the Mississippi River twice. If there is a reason we don’t see Blacks taking part in a lot of those activities, perhaps it has more to do with economics and exposure and less to do with the activities themselves.” – An excerpt from Why We Must, by author and storyteller Eddy L. Harris.

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5 Min