Melanated Campout is a Black and women-owned company that’s inspiring more people of color to get outdoors and camp.
The organization was started by three friends: Jocelyn McCants, Shunte’ McClellan, and Cayela Wimberly White – but only after Cayela made the other two believers.
According to Shunte’, Cayela was an avid camper who traded in the club scene for the outdoors. The other two would hang with her on her adventures but only during the day. By the time night fell, Jocelyn and Shunte’ would head out.
“One day, she was like, ‘you have to stay and get the true experience. You can’t keep going home,'” Shunte’ told Travel Noire. “One day she invited us on a trip with a few other people and offered to show us how to camp. She also said it would be the best sleep we ever got.”
As it turns out, Cayela was right.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it,” says Shunte’. “I was forced to disconnect, enjoy the outdoors, I slept in a hammock […] it was just uninterrupted fun with no distractions.”
The trio started taking more trips and during one of their iconic ventures, filled with fun, laughter, and excitement, Shunte’ told Cayla, “If you got me to camp then we should get more people out here.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
The three women started Melanated Campout in July 2019 with a mission to indulge in what they call Adult CPR: camp, party, and relax.
The friends host an annual event where camp-goers have the weekend to reconnect with nature, camp in style, party under the stars, and more.
“We bring in DJs, comedians, empowerment speakers that talk about building a business, credit, and relationship building,” Shunte’ added. “While we do focus on our adult CPR, we would be remiss if we didn’t try to empower and get information out.”
You can learn more about Melanated Campout on the organization’s website and stay up-to-date with the latest events on Instagram and Facebook.
