Watch the unlikely story of a man (Jahmicah Dawes) who knows little about the outdoors but decides to open up an outdoor outfitter store. Also, he happens to be a black man in the small Texas town of Stephenville, where they had a Klan rally as recently as 2007. This charming video documents the warm-hearted intentions behind the first black-owned outfitter store in the nation, Slim Pickins Outfitters, with their best-selling salesperson, Bill Murray the Basset Hound.
Stephenville, Texas, is at the nexus of highways 108, 281, 377, and 67, south of Interstate 20. It’s located Southwest of the DFW area between Fort Worth and Abilene. That town is as American as rodeos and UFOs. It is known for football and is the #1 dairy town in the state. It is all that and apparently also Confederate flags and monuments and, like we said, a recent KKK rally. It is an unlikely home to a bi-racial family; he is African-American, and she (Heather Dawes) is Caucasian. And yet, they are changing the fabric and trajectory of that town with their spirit of inclusiveness and positivity.
One of the most poignant stories in the film is when Jahmicah spoke about how he and his mom would go ‘junking when he was growing up.’ They would take the white figurines and paint their faces in all different skin tones because that was what the world was like. While Jahmicah felt racism pressuring him to stay in a box, figuratively speaking, this clever childhood exercise with his mom helped him imagine himself belonging in other roles outside of that box and in the outside world as a whole.
#EveryoneOutside is an Outbound Collective initiative focused on creating a more inclusive and culturally diverse outdoor community by elevating traditionally marginalized leaders’ and athletes’ profiles, work, and stories. This Outbound Collective Film was directed by Justin Jeffers and produced by Abdul Kassamali – made in partnership with Wondercamp and presented by HOKA ONE ONE. It was made possible with additional support from Kampgrounds of America (KOA), Sawyer, and VISIT FLORIDA.
Time: 15:30.