On Oct. 10, the Ubuntu Fly Anglers Community Appreciation gathering took place at the Empire Health Philanthropy Center as a way to strengthen community engagement. Founders Bob Bartlett and Carl Crawford celebrated a milestone first year of operations as a nonprofit organization. “We Are Here” was the theme for the night and this was an opportunity for the community to learn more about how connecting to the environment through fishing is a narrative that belongs in the Black community as much as it does in any other.
Bartlett grew up hunting and fishing; he adopted a deep admiration for nature, actively participates in outdoor activities and raised his family to do the same. He shared that he doesn’t want to see any of us limited by our lack of imagination. Expressing what lies ahead in 2025 for the Ubuntu Fly Anglers, he exhorted the importance of growing their wisdom circle.
“As ambassadors, we continue to be intentional in finding ways to nurture our replacements outdoors and in the organizations we belong to,” Bartlett said.
The mission of Ubuntu Fly Anglers, according to their website, is “building community, education, and leadership.” This is centered around “changing the complexion and larger perception of black and brown people outdoors, growing future fly anglers and environmental activists who look like us, making positive changes in angling and in environmentally conscious organizations, nurturing relationships with others like us who can benefit from angling as a pastime or as a profession, and making the invisible of us visible.”
Being one with nature is a core piece of our identity that, when cultivated, expands our world view and creates a sense of belonging that transcends materialism and social competition. Bartlett’s team includes a variety of fly anglers from various locations in the U.S. who challenge each other to continually embrace fishing as recreation. Bartlett and Crawford demonstrate that it is okay to be unapologetically excited about the environment. Nature is a part of our existence and representation matters when it comes to modeling the relationship between the BIPOC community and creation. It is where we belong.
To learn more, visit the Ubuntu Fly Anglers at ifishibelong.org/ubuntuflyanglers/ or follow them on Instagram: @ubunutuflyanglers