Minnesotan plans to be the first Black woman to solo kayak the Mississippi from source to sea
At the end of May, a Minneapolis kayaker will embark on a journey from the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. Devin Brown would be the first Black woman to solo the length of the river.
She’ll be talking about the journey in a panel discussion on Thursday alongside Eddy Harris, an author and adventurer who has paddled the entire river twice. He wrote a memoir called “Mississippi Solo” reflecting on his first trip in the mid-1980s.
Brown and Harris joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the upcoming journey from source to sea.
The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.
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What has it taken to get to this point?
Brown: I moved to Minnesota specifically to pursue the Mississippi River. The energy that I experienced when I was here on a business trip in 2012 just lured me in and I wanted to know more.
And so changing cities, I was doing retail at the time, I had a pretty decent stint with poverty and just being dirt poor and working 80 hours a week to just keep a roof over my head that paddling wasn’t something that I was able to get to.
So when I changed careers to being a massage therapist, I found that stability that I needed and was able to grow and prosper from there and that helps me get back on the river and back on track. I also had a kid in that time, so now is the time. I got back on the river during COVID and I haven’t gotten off.
What stood out to you the most that you want to tell Devin about when it comes to your trip?
Harris: I’ve been in a canoe twice in my life, it’s just been both journeys were 2500 miles worth. So I don’t have any canoeing advice to give but if you’re on the lookout for the generosity of this country, you will find it on the Mississippi River.
The most striking thing to me was the the way people responded to my being on the river. There’s a vulnerability when you’re in a canoe on a big river. There’s a double vulnerability when you’re Black and on the river in a canoe. If I was shocked, it was by the generosity of almost everybody I ran across as I’m coming down the river.
How did it change you personally to go down the river?
Harris: Well, the first year, it changed me in that I was not an outdoorsy person at all. I’m a city kid. I was more comfortable with concrete under my feet than grass. And suddenly I became a major camper, a major fly fisherman — I just became much more aware of the great outdoors and wanting to be in it. And I’ve spent much more time outdoors because of that trip I became a hiker, I’ve been hiking in the Pyrenees and hiking in the Alps and it all stems from the journey on the Mississippi River.
Are you hoping to get other folks of color out there?
Brown: Last summer, I spent time working with Mississippi Park connection, specifically doing BIPOC tours from the northern Mississippi to Boom Island. And just the amount of outdoor experience that people sought out just after that one touch point was breathtaking. So exactly what Eddie was saying, in regards to how spending time on the river just transformed him into an outdoorsman. That’s what I saw happen to the people that participated in my panels.
Why do you think folks of color don't take advantage of the outdoors?
Harris: Where am I came down the river in the second time, I spent a little time with a group called wilderness experience, where I spent a morning paddling with a bunch of young teenagers of color and they just had no experience with the river. One of the things I said to them was the reason we don’t have this experience more often is that in some subtle way, we don’t think it’s ours.
And in this case is the Mississippi River, but in a larger context, it’s the entire country. And we exclude ourselves for many, many things, because we just don’t feel it’s our place. And as Devin said, she’s trying to encourage people of color, to go down the river, or to have an experience with nature.
I think everybody should have that experience. What we miss in this country, especially now in his political climate, is contact with our neighbors. We should all go down the Mississippi River or do something similar to that, so that we can meet other people and see that we are not the enemy. We are all in this together. We’re all in this canoe in some way or another together. And that’s what we need to figure out.
Devin, do you have a comment on this?
Brown: Yeah, I also think that it’s the history of how people have been traumatized by water, whether it’s prosperous Black towns have been turned into lakes or the closure of swimming pools that happened during Jim Crow. A lot of Black people are afraid of water due to those historical events, and there are so many more to name, but that gives a lot of pause to people wanting to get into a boat, especially on the Mississippi River.
And in Minnesota the Mississippi River is relatively calm, it’s a safe space. With the water levels being what they are, it’s the perfect time to experience and and get safe there but there’s definitely a disconnect between Black people and water. Even swimming in swimming pools, there’s a lot of initiatives happening in the Twin Cities to get swim lessons for adults and and children of color.
Brown hopes to complete the trip in 50 days, which would be five days faster than the record. MPR News will continue to follow her journey.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
She'll be talking about the journey in a panel discussion tomorrow evening, alongside Eddy Harris, an author and adventurer who has paddled the entire River not once, but twice. And Eddy has wrote a memoir called Mississippi Solo, reflecting on his first trip, which he made in the mid 1980s.
Eddy Harris lives in France now, but he's in Minnesota this week. So he and Devon Brown are both on the line, and I am so pleased and honored. How are you both?
DEVON BROWN: I am well. I'm super excited for this opportunity, especially to talk to Eddy Harris--
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my goodness.
DEVON BROWN: --and you, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Well, I mean, Eddy Harris, my gosh. Eddy, how are you?
EDDY HARRIS: My head now is swollen. I can't think straight.
[LAUGHTER]
DEVON BROWN: Welcome to Minnesota. No.
CATHY WURZER: Exactly. Welcome to Minnesota. Eddy, I want to be-- if it's OK, I want to ask Devon the first question here. And Devon, gosh, this, I know you set this intention of someday paddling the length of the river more than, I think, what, 10 years ago? So, clearly, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since that time. What has it taken to get to this moment?
DEVON BROWN: Oh, boy. Well, I moved to Minnesota specifically to pursue the Mississippi River. The energy that I experienced when I was here on a business trip in like 2012 just lured me in, and I wanted to know more.
And so changing cities, not having-- I was doing retail at the time, but retail from the East Coast does not transfer over to retail in the Midwest. And so I had a pretty decent stint with poverty and just being dirt poor and working 80 hours a week to just keep a roof over my head, that paddling wasn't something that I was able to get to.
So when I changed careers to being a massage therapist, I found that stability that I needed and was able to grow and prosper from there, and that helped me get back on the river and back on track. I also had a kid in that time. So he's six now. So now is the time. I got back on the river during COVID. And I haven't gotten off.
CATHY WURZER: Good for you. Good for you. Eddy, I did a little research, and I remember our conversation back in 2014. For folks who don't remember, you didn't have a whole lot of canoeing experience before making your first solo trip. I know you grew up in St. Louis. You spent a lot of time on the river.
But when you launched that second trip down the river in 2014, you talked to us back then, and you said were interested in how things had changed in the 30 years since your first trip, how it's changed environmentally and how society has changed around the river. What stood out to you the most that you might want to tell Devon about when it comes to her trip?
EDDY HARRIS: I don't know if I-- well, basically, I've done-- I've been in the canoe twice in my life. It's just that both journeys were 2,500 miles' worth. So I don't have any canoeing advice to give. But if you're on the lookout for the generosity of this country, you will find it on the Mississippi River.
DEVON BROWN: Amen.
EDDY HARRIS: The most striking thing to me was the way people responded to my being on the river. There's a vulnerability when you're in a canoe on a big river. There's a double vulnerability when you're Black and on the river in a canoe. And if I was shocked at all-- and I tend to be pretty optimistic anyway. But if I was shocked at all, it was by the generosity of almost everybody I ran across as I'm coming down the river.
CATHY WURZER: How did it change you personally to go down the river?
EDDY HARRIS: Well, the first journey changed me in that I was not an outdoorsy person at all. I'm a city kid. I was more comfortable with concrete under my feet than grass. And suddenly, after this trip, I became a major camper, a major fly fisherman. I just became much more aware of the great outdoors and wanting to be in it. And I've spent much more time outdoors because of that trip. I became a hiker. I've been hiking in the Pyrenees and hiking in the Alps. And it all stems from that first journey on the Mississippi River.
CATHY WURZER: Obviously, something was sparked inside you. And Devon, I want to know your trip. Are you hoping that other folks of color look at you and say, I could do that. I can get out there. Is that why you're inviting folks of color to join you for sections of the trip?
DEVON BROWN: Absolutely. Last summer, I spent time working with Mississippi Park Connection, specifically doing BIPOC tours from North Miss down to Boom Island. And just the amount of outdoor experience that people or adventures people sought out, just after that one touchpoint, was breathtaking. So exactly what Eddy was saying in regards to how spending time on the river just transformed him into an outdoorsman, that's what I saw happen to the people that participated in my panels.
CATHY WURZER: From where you both sit, why do you think folks of color don't take advantage of the outdoors? What is it? Is it a lack of knowledge? Is it something else going on? Any thoughts on that?
EDDY HARRIS: When I came down the river the second time, I spent a little time with a group called Wilderness Experience, where I spent a morning paddling with a bunch of teenagers of color. And they just have no experience with the river.
And one of the things I said to them was, the reason we don't have this experience more often is that in some subtle way, we don't think it's ours. And it, in this case, is the Mississippi River. But in a larger context, it's the entire country. And we exclude ourselves from many, many things because we just don't feel it's our place.
And as Devon said, she's trying to encourage people of color to go down the river or to have an experience with nature. I think everybody should have that experience. What we miss in this country, especially now in this political climate, is contact with our neighbors.
We should all go down the Mississippi River or do something similar to that, so that we can meet other people and see that we are not the enemy. We are all in this together. We are all in this boat. We are all in this canoe, in some way or another, together. And that's what we need to figure out.
CATHY WURZER: Devon, do you have a comment on this?
DEVON BROWN: Yeah, I also think that it's the history of how people have been traumatized by water, whether it's prosperous Black towns have been turned into lakes or the closure of swimming pools that happened during integration during Jim Crow.
A lot of Black people are afraid of water due to those historical events. And there are so many more to name, but that gives a lot of pause to people wanting to get into a boat, especially on the Mississippi River. And in Minnesota, the Mississippi River is relatively calm, right? It's a safe space right now, with the water levels being what they are. It's the perfect time to experience and get safe there.
But there is definitely a disconnect between Black people and water. Even swimming in swimming pools, there's a lot of initiatives happening in the Twin Cities to get swim lessons for adults and children of color.
CATHY WURZER: And they're really popular. Say, before you go, I got to tell folks, Devon, that you have an aim to complete this trip in 50 days, 5-0, 50 days, which would be five days faster than the record for a woman paddling solo. So we all wish you well. We're going to keep following what you're doing. So, Devon, good luck. We're going to follow you along, all right?
DEVON BROWN: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: And Eddy, I appreciate your time. Both of you were fantastic. Thank you so very much for a great conversation.
DEVON BROWN: Thank you.
EDDY HARRIS: Thank you very much, and see you soon, Devon.
DEVON BROWN: I was going to say, I'll see you at dinner tonight, Eddy.
CATHY WURZER: All right.
[LAUGHTER]
Devon Brown is preparing to launch from the headwaters of the Mississippi the last day of May on a solo kayak trip to the Gulf of Mexico. And Eddy Harris has traveled twice from the source of the river to the sea, wrote about that first trip in his memoir, Mississippi Solo. They will both be part of a panel taking place at Bad Weather Brewing tomorrow evening, Thursday, April 25th, at 5:00 PM. It's going to stream online, too.
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