What is the Angling for All Pledge?

The Angling for All Pledge establishes a benchmark for learning and a commitment to addressing racism and inequality in fishing and its industry.

In signing the Angling for All Pledge, organizations and individuals commit to:

      • Completion of the Angling for All curriculum. If pledgee is a company, brand or organization completion is required by executive level leadership (CEO, C-Suite, Executive team, HR or Head of Diversity Initiatives, Chair of Board of Directors, and/or other applicable leadership)
      • Creation of and commitment to a plan of action upon completion of Pledge curriculum

The curriculum includes a set of programming that is customized on an individual basis in recognition that not all individuals or organizations are the same, and each will take their own unique paths toward eliminating barriers and creating change in the industry. 

If you are a guide, instructor, or small business owner who identifies as BIPOC, please contact us directly at: brownfolksfishing@gmail.com or on Instagram @brownfolksfishing. It is our goal to create a network of support for BIPOC in the industry.

(Components of the Pledge are inspired by Teresa Baker and the Outdoor CEO Pledge”)

Why was this created?

Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are a growing demographic in sport fishing. Yet, it is clear with a glance at all levels of the sport fishing industry — everywhere from boards, staff, marketing, communications — that BIPOC are grossly underrepresented. Sport fishing isn’t alone in its struggle. According to the last several Outdoor Recreation reports, all non-white groups have either stagnated or declined in participation in fly fishing. This comes at a moment when fly fishing is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. 

At Brown Folks Fishing, our work seeks to reimagine fishing as a gateway to conservation. We reimagine because the framework of conservation as it exists is deeply rooted in white supremacy, erasure, and colonialism. These same forces create a form of gatekeeping that presents significant barriers to BIPOC who are both in and new to the sport. We owe this ethos to the Black and Indigenous environmentalists who have made this road by walking it, by shouting the impossibility of tackling climate without tackling racism and inequality.

BIPOC communities bear the greatest impacts of climate disasters, natural or anthropogenic. Power plants and refineries that cause poor air quality are disproportionately located in predominantly Black, Brown, and Indigenous neighborhoods. Lack of access to clean drinking water continues to disproportionately impact BIPOC communities, whose neighborhoods have historically been overlooked and excluded from investments in adequate water and wastewater infrastructure. All the while, study after study shows that Black and Brown communities are more concerned than white people about climate change. Simultaneously, Indigenous people are often not even included in studies, erasing them from the narrative completely. The crisis of racism is deeply intertwined with the climate crisis, and the solutions to both should be as well. 

In response, the team behind Brown Folks Fishing has launched the Angling for All Pledge as a framework to advance an intersectional vision across the fishing and related conservation community that is rooted in anti-racism, justice, equity, liberation, inclusion, resilience, and solidarity.

Guides, instructors, outfitters, media platforms, organizations, brands, companies, and other professionals across the fishing industry are encouraged to apply.

Those who successfully complete the Pledge will have the opportunity to be included in the BFF Guide, a directory that features our team’s recommendations for guides, instructors, experiences, shops, brands, and organizations from across the industry. The Guide will be available publicly as an information resource to anglers.

How To Pledge

If you are interested in becoming a pledgee:

          • Fill out this application form (NOTE: New Pledgees are being accepted via open inquiry. If you would like to apply, please email us at brownfolksfishing@gmail.com. If you have been invited to apply, please contact us directly on Instagram or by email.)


Submissions will be reviewed by the BFF team and accepted in rounds, on a rolling basis. Upon acceptance to the Pledge a BFF representative will reach out to discuss: 

          • Your timeline for completion
          • Curriculum and associated fees
          • Identify your unique set of commitments and outcomes 
          • How you will work with BFF to identify and commit resources in support of our programming and initiatives 


Acceptance to the Pledge will be based on applicant responses. See Criteria for Pledgees below for more detail. For more information about the program, including length and costs, please
visit the FAQ.

Criteria for Pledgees

Applicants will be evaluated for their “Growth Mindset” qualities — a belief in ongoing growth, a willingness to learn and change, push through discomfort, a desire to take action thoughtfully, and an understanding that the effort to stretch oneself to keep at it is necessary, even when emotionally challenging or to reconcile missteps and mistakes. 

Accepted applicants will also be required to provide regular, public updates around their process and progress through the course of the Pledge. Completion criteria include:

          • A formal acknowledgement of Indigenous sovereignty and land and water rights
          • Mandatory completion by CEO, C-Suite, Executive team, HR or Head of Diversity Initiatives, Chair of Board of Directors, and/or other applicable leadership if Pledgee is a company, brand, or organization
          • Submit and commit to a plan of action upon completion of Pledge curriculum

The Curriculum

The Angling for All Curriculum is created and led by Erica Nelson and Sydney Clark of REAL Consulting in partnership with Brown Folks Fishing, and consists of three parts: Reconciling Your Identity, Building Community, and Decolonizing the Industry.

The curriculum is designed to move participants into self-reflection and self-awareness so that they can be better informed and equipped to tackle racism and inequality in the angling community and industry. The Pledge centers the voices of BIPOC and QTPOC anglers in seeking to dismantle systemic barriers to entry and participation at all levels of the fishing industry and its related conservation community. For brands and organizations, this includes building strategies for enhancing equity and diversity across staff and executive teams, media and marketing, athletes and ambassadors, and individuals and guides.

PLEDGEES

Currently in process
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