Camping Expedition Set-Up, Old Shorter School, Oct. 24

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Sonya Covington, co-founder of Shades of Adventure and the BIPOC Outdoor Collective led the Expedition with assistance from Corey Webb of Corey Webb Travels, and Ridge Project board members Gary Cox, Johanna Robinson, Cedric Sanders, and Ridge Project Executive Director, Dr. Shari Williams.  Sonya, Cory, Gary, and Cedric all are experienced campers. On Thursday evening, Guy Trammell, Tuskegee native and Historian, joined us for the first camp site meal of the weekend and the first of several evening fireside chats and storytelling. Five college-age young adults participated in the Expedition: Shaniya Bullock, Ananda Fleming, and Ameris Wright from Tuskegee University, Nieaudrah Martin from Auburn University Montgomery, and Georgiann Sinclair from the Greening Youth Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia. To encourage them to continue camping and participation in outdoor recreation, the Ridge Project gave all five a free camping kit that included a tent, tent footprint, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, portable toilet, table, chair, and a lantern. 

 The ​Expeditioners and camp leaders participated in an archaeological dig at the Ridge Project’s Interpretive Center in Warrior Stand. Members of Moundville Archaeological Park’s Educational Outreach team Marsha Holley, Bill Skinner, and Erinn Townsend conducted the dig and an ancient tools and weapons program. They were accompanied by a team of enthusiastic AmeriCorps volunteers who were on assignment at Moundville. Visit https://www.digtheridge.com/news for more information about the artifacts found during the dig! 

 Festival attendees gathered early on Saturday morning to enjoy a catered breakfast of treats made by caterer Rebecca Ross. The symposium featured presentations that focused on the theme “Celebrating Harmony of “History, Culture, and the Natural World.” including

• "History, Culture, and the Natural World Along the Federal Road,” by Matthew Robinson, Tribal Liaison, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
• “Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Alabama,” by Scotty E. Kirkland, Coordinator of Exhibitions, Publications, and Programs, Alabama Department of Archives and History
• “Engaging With the Outdoors, Past, Present, and Future,” by Sonya Covington, co-founder of Shades of Adventure and the BIPOC Outdoor Collective
• “Genealogy 101,” by Jesse Baskerville, Black Belt African American Genealogical and Historical Society
• “Mosaic Templars of America Headstones in Macon County, Alabama,” by Dr. Shari L. Williams, Ridge Project Executive Director

​At lunchtime, festival attendees enjoyed a catered lunch prepared by the Wishbone Café in Montgomery, Alabama. The afternoon DNA reveal followed. Tyrone Kelley and his family were the featured guests. The Kelleys descend from enslaved ancestors whose descendants settled in Creek Stand, Alabama in Macon County. Creek Stand was once a stagecoach stop on the Federal Road. It was revealed that the Kelleys are related to the late Negro Leagues player James “Sap” Ivory (1939-2008) of the Birmingham Barons. Dr. Williams presented a surprise gift to the family, a Negro Leagues Hall of Fame medallion enclosed in an envelope autographed by “Sap” Ivory.  The reveal generated enthusiastic audience participation.  

 The Camping Expedition concluded on Sunday with three of our campers along with Ms. Covington, Mr. Webb, and Dr. Williams hiking the Bartram Trail located in the Tuskegee National Forest. The Bartram Trail is named for William Bartram who was the first American-born naturalist. Bartram travelled through Macon County during the Revolutionary War and scientifically documented the natural habitat and people.