There has been a lot of talk in the travel world surrounding Woni Spotts and Jessica Nabongo, two solo Black female travelers. Jessica is currently chronically her quest to be the first Black woman to travel to every country; Woni claims to have already done it. While a lot of the conversation comes down to the question “if it didn’t happen on social media, does it even count?”, the comment sections of these articles are bringing up another hot topic: why does color matter at all? I’d like to answer this question and explain in no uncertain terms why Black travel matters.
Black Travel Matters Because We Cannot Ignore Our Blackness
W.E.B Du Bois coined the term “double consciousness” in his 1903 book The Souls of Black Folks, a fantastic read and one that I highly recommend. Du Bois explains this term as the feeling of having a divided identity or a split consciousness. I’ve always felt this as the dissonance I sometimes feel being Black and being American. It can be troubling and confusing to belong to a country that encourages unity but continues to perpetuate a tradition of othering and segregation. I have a daily reminder that I’m not one or the other, I am both and that fact follows me no matter where I am in this world.
My blackness doesn’t disappear once I step into an airport or board a plane. And I don’t just forget all of my learned experiences once I land in a foreign place. If anything, my awareness of my skin color becomes heightened whenever I find myself in groups of people where I am often one of a few other Black or Brown people. Spoiler alert: which is almost all the time. And because we’re often the only one in the room, when we see people who look like us doing amazing things, we make a big deal because we don’t see it very often.
So, the first thing I want people to know about why Black travel matters or why we have to make it about color, is this unfortunate reality: it’s always about color for people of color. Always.
Black Travel Matters Because Representation Matters
As a young girl, I can remember feeling confused about why the students in my class didn’t look like me. I couldn’t understand why their hair was straight and their skin a different color than mine. I remember a friend of mine telling me in elementary school, “Ashley, you have to have the Black doll and I have to have the White doll.” And sometimes there was no Black doll at all.
Imagine that for a moment if you’ve never had an experience like that. Reading a book, watching a television show, looking around your own classroom, and not seeing anyone that looks like you. Can you imagine what that does to the psyche of a child?
When it comes to travel, the example that women like Jessica and Woni set for other Black travelers, and Black women in particular, serve as an inspiration and an example. I think to myself, “Jessica just got back from the Cook Islands,” or, “Woni went to Easter Island,” and that tells me that I can do those things too. I second guess my own desires and dreams less because I see these women already doing it. This is why Black travel matters. Because representation matters. It matters for me and it matters for my children and my family.
Black Travel Matters and It’s OK That You Don’t Get It
Has someone ever come to you with what they believe is some super juicy gossip? And you got all into it and then after they told you, you were like, “Okaaaay? That’s it?”
Not everything is for you to get. And that’s OK. It’s perfectly fine to not understand something and leave it alone. Write it off as an experience that you weren’t meant to have and walk away.
Social media has a lot of us believing that we should have access to every part of a person’s life; every experience should be accessible. And even some diversity training would have us thinking that we’re all one people – why can’t we all just get along? We can all definitely get along but the first step in that togetherness is respecting each other’s differences.
It’s OK if you don’t understand the Black American experience. There are plenty of social identities and experiences that I and other Black people won’t understand either. So when or if you find yourself asking why Black travel matters, remember the few things I’ve said in this post, and then try to let it go. Some movements aren’t for everyone.
I could have said so much more in this post but this isn’t the space for my academic analyses of complex social issues. Have you noticed this topic come up in your own travel talks? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below!