Black people have a long history of making something out of nothing.
In fact, while in the process of making due over time, gun ownership, fishing, and hunting have enabled Black folks to uphold self-sustained communities (e.g. the 50 Black Oklahoma towns created in the aftermath of the Civil War.)
Unfortunately, this form of self-determination for Black folks isn’t as widely celebrated as it is in white communities.
There are many white athlete content creators who monetize their love for the outdoors, yet the opposite is true for their Black counterparts.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz and his brother have “Wentz Bros Outdoors” with 68,000 Instagram followers and 6,500 YouTube subscribers. Former Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher co-owns “Catchin’ Deers,” an outdoor lifestyle brand. Same goes for retired WWE Superstar Shaun Michaels, who launched his own hunting show called “MacMillian River Adventures.”
So where’s the comparable imprint when it comes to Black athletes who are avid hunters?
Some, like Cliff Cadet, aim to change the narrative.
Cadet, a Queens, New York resident and a former distance runner and basketball player, picked up bowhunting in 2019 as a way to remain active after an injury.
Cadet revels in his place as a conversation piece for those who may not have previously met a Black hunter.
“Originally I picked up a bow just as an activity for me to just do,” said Cadet, a UPS truck driver who has hunted and harvested deer and turkeys. “It turns out we had a couple of local archery ranges here in the city, and maybe about a year or so later — looking through social media — hunting started to pique my interest and I went from there.
“I tell people there’s a huge tradition of Black people hunting. I’m saying like their fathers or their grandfathers did it — and so on and so forth. When I tell people of color who are not hunters, there’s a lot of apprehension. They would say: ‘ Aren’t you afraid of being the victim of a hate crime? Are you scared of being shot, or you think you’re white?’”
Black Athletes Hunt
When Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes leaned into hunting, he harbored feelings of not being accepted by the hunting community due to the color of his skin.
That hesitancy subsided when he bought his own land to hunt on, and later became an owner of a hunting outfitting company.
“Just the typical stereotypes. ‘Oh, African Americans aren’t really big in the hunting community,”’ said Waynes. “I mean there’s some out there, don’t get me wrong. It’s just not as prevalent, so a lot of people aren’t really used to seeing that. My initial concern was: ‘OK, well how are people going to you know take it?’ This is an outfitter that is owned by an African American — they’re probably not used to seeing that.”
While some believe Black folks joining hunting communities is a new — and possibly unexpected— trend, many of them learned the age-old practice from family members and the parents of friends as a mechanism of survival, not a hobby.
Many Black folks have Southern roots where they most likely picked up hunting from a family member. Post-Civil War, Black hunters served as guides in quail hunting and other small game.
Due to anxiety exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest, police brutality, gun violence, carjackings, violence toward Black women, and non-melanated people historically taking umbrage at the mere existence of Black folks, many Black people have taken up arms in the spirit of journalist and activist Ida B. Wells who once said: “the Winchester rifle deserved a place of honor in every Black home.”
Presently, Black gun ownership is on the rise.
Amid persisting racial stereotypes, the Firearm Industry Trade Association says Black gun ownership increased by 56 percent in 2020.
And despite those stereotypes causing hesitancy (e.g. The mainstream media’s favorable treatment of gun-toting teen Kyle Rittenhouse), Black folks are creating spaces in the outdoors.
The Instagram account, “The Great Outchea,” encourages people of color to explore wide-open spaces. Platinum-selling rapper Twista runs a concealed carry class in Chicago. The National African American Guns Association aims to normalize Black gun ownership, and Durrell Smith hosts “The Gun Dog Notebook,” a podcast dedicated to gun dogs and upland hunting. Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Trent Cole, an avid hunter who sports a bowhunter pose when he made a big play, hosts a gun show called “Blitz TV.”
Waynes, a Kenosha, Wisconsin, native who picked up hunting while a member of the Minnesota Vikings, says there’s “Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t” aspect when it comes to the presence of Black folks with guns and/or other weapons historically viewed as threats.
He’s always had interest in hunting and watched hunting shows as a kid. But Waynes was introduced to hunting by a business partner while playing in Minnesota.
“I don’t want to get too deep into it but I mean, it’s different,” said Waynes. “I think that’s like an interesting subject to touch on just because there are so many different views on it, and it’s just really political opinions. I guess it’s really hard to give a right answer depending on the side you’re looking at.”
Despite that, Waynes aims to show hunting is a sport that could use some diversity in demographics, thought, and approach.
“There are people who say it’s not a racial thing, it’s just a lifestyle,” said Waynes, the owner of Home Grown Outfitters. “It’s good to see people are more open and are into different things. … That actually gives you a little bit of hope for humanity.”
Despite Waynes’ hopes, Black involvement in outdoor activities has a long way to go. Outdoors website Meateater cited a 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study saying one percent of America’s Black population hunted at least once.
Retired Major League Baseball pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who played for Twins, Cubs, Yankees, Blue Jays, Rockies, among other teams, was a young boy growing up in Gary, Indiana when he was first exposed to hunting by a neighbor’s boyfriend.
Hawkins was enamored with what he witnessed.
“Every year in her backyard [my neighbor’s boyfriend] would have his bow and he’d be out there in the backyard practicing. I was like: ‘Man, that looks so much fun,’” said Hawkins. “I didn’t know he was hunting until I started talking to him and I was probably about 10 at the time. So I would say when I got old enough —and if I ever made enough money— I was gonna buy my own ranch and hunt on my own land.”
During his 21-year career, Hawkins picked up hunting from three Colorado Rockies teammates, Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, and Manny Corpas.
“Before the game at the batting practice, they would go in and practice shooting their bows in the hitting tunnel. They had targets set up and all that. So when they would go out, I would watch them. I’m like: ‘Man, that’s cool.’ ” After the position players were done practicing, we’d shoot for who was gonna buy lunch.”
Decades later, Hawkins bought 370 acres of land in Texas where he hunts deer. Over time, Hawkins has hunted deer, coyotes and Axis deer on his property.
“I wanted to raise cows and do some of the farming stuff,” said Hawkins. “I had a trainer who had a huge ranch out in West Texas and he said he’ll take me to shoot my first deer. He took me out to shoot my first buck, and I was like: ‘We’re going to eat that?, I’m good with it.’ I mean, I had adrenaline. You kind of feel a little sorrow about it, but it was something that I was like: ‘OK, I’ll do this again, but I feel bad because I use a rifle.’ ”
Along the way, Hawkins made the transition from guns to bows.
“I started bowhunting. When you’re hunting it’s not about the kill — I like to be with nature. I like to be outside in a tree stand, or walking around. I like just listening to everything in the woods. I really do enjoy it.”
Over time, Hawkins’ apprehension about what he was doing dissipated.
Sport vs. Harvesting
Hawkins, who goes after big game such as Cape Buffaloes, Dove, Kudu, Gemsbok, Impala, Common Reedsbucks, Wildebeests, Verbet Monkeys, zebras, caracal, and warthogs in Africa and Argentina, along with harvesting deer in several Midwestern states, doesn’t care much for the term “hunting.”
He prefers to call what he does “harvesting,” a practice he teaches his daughter, Troi.
“Where I grew up, guns were always in a negative light, so I wanted to change that culture within my household,” said Hawkins. “My daughter can shoot. She understands gun safety. She can quarter her own deer. So, if the world goes to s**t, she can survive. She knows how to do a lot of things that normal kids don’t know how to do to survive. I made it that way for a purpose because I don’t want her to be so dependent on somebody else going to get her food for her.
“It sounds crazy. We know it might not ever happen, but we didn’t think the pandemic was gonna happen either. And everything stopped. Shooting teaches you patience and accountability.”
Former NFL running back Rashad Jennings agrees and believes people need to pivot in how they provide for their families during an unprecedented — and unpredictable — time in American history.
And while he echoes Hawkins’s sentiments, his introduction to hunting wasn’t as a sport but rather as a way to survive in Central Virginia.
“I’m from Forrest, Virginia, so I knew people who were hunters, fishermen, and farmers who lived off the land,” said Jennings. “It’s one of those things where you take part directly or indirectly. My experience in [hunting] is how you provide for your family.”
These days, Jennings is more of a bowhunter where he says he’s shot turkeys that end up on his table for Thanksgiving.
“It depends on the culture you’re raised in whether you think hunting is kind of taboo or vicious,” said Jennings. “And where I’m from, it’s just a part of life. Where do people think they get the food in the grocery store from? Bowhunting is more nostalgic; more so one with nature. A gun is cheating. Personally, I believe it takes more skill to shoot a bow than it is to shoot a gun.”
Jennings says he’d like to pass on his love for bowhunting when he has children as a sport, along with a blueprint for survival.
“I would teach them how to hunt. I would say I’m gonna teach my kids as much as I possibly can,” said Jennings. “I’m probably gonna learn more than I teach them but I think I think it’s neat to learn how to live off the land. They can make life slow down just a little bit. … Yeah, I mean that that plays a role. With COVID, we stopped going to the grocery store, and now you’re subject to the powers that be.
“Anytime you can develop a website versus paying somebody to develop it, you’re better off. Those who hunt in relation to the technology world are those who code. Those folks are winning. Obviously, those that know how to live off the land, and know how to maneuver in space will be better off.”
