I was recently enjoying a relaxed Saturday morning complete
with a full breakfast of Southwest scrambled eggs, bacon and spiced chai. I had
my laptop right beside me revved up and ready to peruse the internet for websites
and articles of interest. I was praying that the internet gods would shine a
light on me and allow me to log onto Facebook and other China blocked websites
with relative ease. Fortunately, I was granted partial, not full access and
before things totally cut out, one of my favorite Black travel bloggers had a
link to an article by another Black travel blogger about the lack of black
faces in the mainstream travel media.
I was curious, so I found the article and read it through
comments and all. The article was discussing the recent White House Travel
Blogger Summit (I never knew such a thing existed until that moment); an event
that invited the top 100 people of the travel media in the U.S. The goal of the
summit was to encourage American youth to become global citizens through
volunteering, studying or working abroad.
According to this travel blogger, there were no black
speakers invited to this event since all the photos the blogger saw were of
white people (According to a commenter on that blog, this was false since the
commenter was in attendance at the event
and it turned out there were a few Black speakers present).
To be honest, I wasn’t blown away by anything the travel
blogger had to say, in fact, it sounded like the same ol’ song I’ve been
hearing on repeat for the past few years-The lack of black faces in the
mainstream and it isn’t fair
right. I guess I’ve become numb to such kind talk and instead of being
angry/upset/annoyed etc. I just feel meh…
I guess the reason for my apathetic feelings is because I don’t expect the rest of the world to play
fair /equal/accepting; not even the highest place in America. With a half
Black president in the White House, some would come to the conclusion that the
event would be more diverse, with a large number of Black speakers in
attendance. Obviously, folks haven’t
been watching this administration that closely or they wouldn’t be acting this
surprised (that’s something for a whole other blog post).
And while the point of this summit was to get the American
youth interested in being a “global citizen,” I’ve come to the conclusion that
they were probably trying to appeal to a certain demographic which happens to
be…
White/Middle to Upper class/ College bound/enrolled/ or graduated…
Now, before anyone gets carried away, I’m not accusing the
leaders of this summit of being racist. What I’m pointing out is the simple
fact that a global traveler in America, especially the notion of being a
“global citizen” is often times assumed to belong to the face of a White
(Liberal) American. Now, historically, this was true, but in the recent decade,
I’ve seen a number of Black travelers/ study abroad students/ and travel
bloggers in growing numbers. However, other people may not know or realize this
or if they do, they may not care to acknowledge it. I will also say something that’s
been my experience while traveling:
Some may not be too happy about it...
As someone who has
traveled for a few years now, I’ve learned that travel (especially one that
involves trans-Atlantic or farther), when it comes to other Americans, is
something reserved for White people. While something as simple (or complicated
depending on how you look at it) as travel shouldn’t be exclusionary, or have a
racial undertone, I’ve found in my experience the opposite to be true.
I’ve encountered the
funny looks, comments and even downright rudeness for entering travel spaces which were
apparently reserved for enlightened, liberal, colorblind white folks (yes, I’ve
always laughed at the irony). While the majority of Americans I’ve met have
been cordial or even excited to see another American, I’ve noticed a fair
number of people (especially in Asia) weren’t too keen to see me in “their
spaces.”
Luckily for me, I never let those people deter me from my travel
path. If I encountered someone of that kind, I would cordially excuse
myself/busy myself and keep it moving. No amount of ignorance was going to keep
me from enjoying my well-earned vacation or working abroad experience.
So what am I trying to say?
Black people…please realize that life isn’t fair. Instead of
moaning about things/people/ institutions being too exclusive, start forging
your own path. Stop waiting on the media or the government to give Black people
a voice, because... “that ain’t gonna happen cap’n!”
Lastly, if you see
another Black person in the travel world who’s product/service/writing has
inspired you or helped you, pay it forward and support that person (I will emphasize if you agree with them, not just blind support based on race).
I guess what I’m trying to say that if you’re black and
you’re interested in travel, currently traveling, thinking about a career in
travel media or, are firmly in travel media, my advice would be to seek out
other like-minded people on that path. If you want to study or work abroad, find
alumni from your high school, college or university who have been/are currently
abroad. If you want to get into travel media, start making moves and network
with other people in this arena if your goal is to expand your brand or, be
successful in this business.
Send your support to other Black people who are doing the
travel/study/work abroad thing. Comment or reblog their posts; purchase their
podcast or merchandise; simply spread the word about these other Black
platforms to give them well needed (and hopefully) deserved exposure.
So dear readers, realize that you have the power and stop
begging for scraps. It’s a new day, a new world and a new time out here and the
determined/innovative/hard-working are going to get the spoils.
Well, that all for now, tune in next time to hear about my
upcoming travel plans for 2015!
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