The next time you see a crowd of Black men and women scaling the hilly and mountain heights somewhere in theUK countryside, you may well be witnessing the latest exploits of eBony Hikers.The online-based group is inspiring, encouraging and supporting Black communities who are interested in exploring the outdoors through walking and hiking to do just that.The group was launched byIngrid Davey from Wolverhampton in 2020 and, soon after, Paula Hemmings andDominique DeLeon accepted her invitation to join her on a walk. The Birmingham-born duo then abandoned their own ad hoc group and transformedIngrid’s into eBony Hikers, a CIC with improved online presence and membership strategy
Culture
You’re free to talk how you talk, wear your hair how you want, and feel at home
Paula told The Voice: “We met quite a few people who wanted to go on hikes, but there were very few that were West Midlands-based or were focused on non-Whites.
“This was important because a lot of us in eBony Hikers are professionals, working in places where we have to code-switch:change the way we speak and almost translate things before we say it for colleagues who are from a different culture."
“We almost have to make ourselves a little smaller, but here you’re free to talk how you talk, wear your hair how you want and just feel at home."
“That is something that’s missing, which we don’t always feel is missing until you’re around other Black people who aren’t family and friends and yet you feel at home with them.With Ingrid having to take a step back for personal reasons, we were able to help out and move things forward.”Dominique added: “eBonyHikers allows us to connect on an emotional level because we’re constantly supporting one another while we’re walking and outside of our comfort zone.“It’s about normalising our presence in those areas, and through eBony Hikers we’ve created a community that also demonstrated the need for that community. The presence of regular attendees on our hikes shows us that something is missing and has been for a longtime.”
The duo said they questioned why, in middle-age, some still hadn’t visited the myriad of open spaces not far from the urban areas of greater Birmingham most live in.The pandemic made many more reassess their values, what was important to them, their working lives and treatment by employers; also how disposable many were made to feel.“It was essentially like forced mindfulness,” said Dominique,35, a cognitive behavioural therapist for children and young people. “With time to think and reflect, some people’s priorities began to shift.”eBony Hikers holds regular hikes of various lengths in Birmingham each month to “normalise walking that focuses on our area,” said Paula, 43, who mixes running an online beauty store with working in logistics.
The group also journeys further afield to the likes of the Peak District, MalvernHills, Epping Forest and evenScotland – all advertised on its Facebook, Instagram and Eventbrite accounts. The first hike being free and pay-as-you-go options, the duo is working to remove any potential barriers to new attendees joining.They have also added attendance at a minimum of four social activities per annum to members. Paula concluded: “There’s a false conception that you have to be very fit to be in a hiking group, but some walks are on the flat and only a few miles long and are at a moderate pace.”
