Founder of first Black-owned US outdoor gear shop: ‘We’re more than the narratives out there’

By Joe Kanzangu, The Guardian

Jahmicah Dawes stood out during his undergraduate days at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, a small city known for its glut of pro rodeo cowboys and cowgirls.

Dawes was no rodeo rider. The only Black person in town, he refashioned his dorm room into something of a stylist’s atelier, and would dress his fellow students in spiffy sneakers and vintage clothing before their date nights.

A decade on, Dawes still calls Stephenville home, and he is still outfitting its residents, as the founder and owner of Slim Pickins Outfitters, an outdoor gear shop. Located in a former pharmacy that he and his wife, Heather, converted, Slim Pickins carries everything from standard-fare fleeces to T-shirts made in conjunction with Black Outside, Inc, a San Antonio, Texas-based nonprofit that connects Black youths to nature programs.

An avid hiker, Dawes says his retail shop is all about culture, community and connecting to the natural land. Slim Pickins Outfitters also happens to be the first Black-owned outdoor gear shop in the country. In an industry that boasts $127bn in annual revenue and 4,749 shops, only three retail destinations are Black-owned. Add in racial discrimination and resource inequity launching and maintaining a Black-owned business, as Dawes has been doing since 2017, can be a steep uphill battle.

Yet one wouldn’t necessarily know that from walking into his shop. Presided over by the family dog, Bill Murray, the wood-walled retail space is an oasis of adventure and joy. The displayed goods are a carefully chosen collection of gear, from both big name labels and Slim Pickins’ partnership with Public Lands, the outdoor gear line owned by Dick’s Sporting Goods that advocates greater accessibility to the outdoor life for more people. The space in the back of the shop is a community room where visitors can practice yoga or take hunting certification classes.

Learn more about the store.

Owning a business is especially significant after three centuries of slavery.

Don’t forget to stop by ABHM’s breaking news archive.