Reflections on Second Annual 'Women of Color Travel': Being A Part of the Conversation

About the Event

'Women of Color Travel' began in 2015 as a way to bring women of color together to discuss their experiences in travel media. Last year's event was organized by Jessica van Dop DeJesus, The Dining Traveler, in Washington, D.C. and brought together notable DC-based women in the industry. Our second annual #WomenofColorTravel event happened last week in New York City and it was nothing short of amazing. Hosted by Jessica, Metanoya Z. Webb of Globetrotting Stiletto, and me, the theme was 'Be Part of the Conversation.'

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This year's sold-out event was held in Hostelling International (HI) NYC's lovely ballroom that served as the perfect event venue. I've actually never stayed in a hostel, but I was immediately a fan of HI. The property was gorgeous and not at all what I expected when I think of the word 'hostel.' I didn't have a chance to tour the rooms, but the common areas were lovely and well-maintained. 

To start the night, we enjoyed soft drinks, beer, and light snacks in HI's urban garden. After cocktail hour, Metanoya and I gave opening remarks (Jessica was there in spirit!), followed by Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon's  (otherwise known as JetSetSarah) keynote address. 

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Each attendee received gift bags with items from Caudalie, and had an opportunity to win an 4-day, 3-night vacation package to the U.S. Virgin Islands, a 1-night stay at the National Harbor with passes to ICE! and the Capital Wheel, and a gift card to Cocotique. Amazing prizes, if I do say so myself! 

Keynote Address and Panel

If you're in the travel industry, you're familiar with JetSetSarah. She's tiny in stature but big in personality and overall, just a very lovely and spirited person. It was a pleasure hearing her speak on being a women of color in the travel industry. Sarah said she felt there was no better person to tell the stories of the Caribbean than her, which is the focus of her travel writing and brand. She made note that until recently, she did not see people who looked like her doing what she did. Some days it feels like she has 10 bosses as a freelance writer, and she has to prove herself to them every time, a sentiment that many people of color have in their professional careers. Sarah offered inspiration to travel media saying, "Use your gift. Be brave and don't wait for others to show you your gift." She said, "If no one else is going to open up doors for us, we have to band together and bust that door down!"

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Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon giving the Keynote Address

Following JetSetSarah's amazing speech, our panelists took the stage, including Kimberly Wilson (Travel Writer and Social Media Manager for The Grio), Yvonne Pearson (Tourism Marketing Coordinator at National Harbor), Keisha Nelson (Account Executive at USVI Tourism), Imani Rodman (PR Executive at M Booth) and Diana Limongi (Founder of DLG Media). Moderated by Felice Léon (Host at The Root), each panelist spoke of their experiences as women of color in travel media. 

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Left to Right: Kimberly Wilson, Yvonne Pearson, Keisha Nelson, Imani Rodman, Diana Limongi, Felice Leon

Panelists reflected on how women of color can make our voices heard in the travel space and get brands to recognize us as influencers, how we can use our media to inspire other women of color to travel more, and how tourism boards and public relations firms can target women of color to promote their brands.

Reflections

During our inaugural event last year, I blogged about how there are plenty of women of color travel bloggers, they are not being included as much as they should in travel media. I still stand by those remarks. I see bloggers on major press trips and women of color travel bloggers are hardly ever included. Our perspectives are different than our white and male counterparts. 

I left #WomenofColorTravel more inspired than ever to continue the mission of Will Drink For Travel. While my blog is not targeted specifically to people of color, I hope to always be serve as a positive representation of women and black travel bloggers.  The landscape of travel is changing and it's time for destinations and brands to take notice.

Thank Yous

Thank you to Hostelling International NYC for being such amazing and accommodating hosts. HI offers tourism scholarships for students and professionals 18-30 to change the world through a mission. Their goal is to get more people of various backgrounds to travel, which is noteworthy and much needed! Thank you to our sponsors U.S. Virgin Islands, National Harbor and Cocotique. We look forward to hosting this event again next year!

Check out more photos from the event below. And if you missed Metanoya, Shannon Haynes (Parlour Magazine), Evita Robinson (Nomadness Travel Tribe) and me on The Grio discussing our experiences as women of color who travel, check out the video here. 

Photo Credit: Metanoya Z. Webb

Dear America: You Need to Do Better

Dear America,

During my recent trip to Durban, a fellow traveler asked me where I was from. You know, the usual conversation when you meet a stranger on the road. Here's how the conversation went:

Him: So where are you from?
Me: Oh, I'm from the States.
Him: Oh wow. What's happening over there right now?
Me: What do you mean?
Him: You guys have that crazy guy running for President. 
Me: Yeah, I don't like to talk about it because it gets me fired up.
Him: And all of those police shootings...
Me: Yeah, it's sad and unnecessary. 
Him: Do you think tourists will continue wanting to visit the U.S. with all these things happening?
Me: You know, I'm not sure. But that's a great question...

With the latest police-involved killing of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma over the weekend and just yesterday, the killing of unarmed black man Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, I can't help but to be reminded of this conversation. People all over the world think of the United States as the world's greatest country. We have a top notch job market, economy, education systems, and with a little hard work and perseverance, anyone can achieve the ultimate goal: The American Dream. Right? Wrong.

America's own citizens - black men and women - are being gunned down by the very people sworn to protect them, all because they are perceived as threatening due to the color of their skin. In 2016. Terence Crutcher's car was broken down on the side of the road. Keith Lamont Scott was sitting in his car reading a book and waiting for his children. But neither of them were able to make it home to their families for doing things that people do every day. Why?

America, don't get me started on the systematic and systemic ways that black people are held down, including employment, housing discrimination, voting laws, and mass incarceration. And when a celebrity uses his platform to take a stand (Hey, Colin Kaepernick!), he receives death threats and is seen as divisive and unpatriotic for silently protesting these injustices. He refuses to stand during a National Anthem, written by a former slave owner, that says;

No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Some Americans are outraged that he has the audacity to not salute the American flag while this song is being played. They think he doesn't support our troops. What those Americans don't understand is that frankly, not saluting the flag or standing for the Star Spangled Banner does not equal non-support of our military. Colin has just as much a right to the flag and the Star Spangled Banner as anyone who serves in the military. He loves his country just as much as service men and women.  Colin is not disrespecting the flag, nor does he hate this country. He is simply exercising his American right to protest for that in which he believes. You know, because this is the land of the free and home of the brave. He believes that all Americans - no matter the race - should be treated equally and fairly. The issue seems simple enough, right? Apparently not.

What's sad about the Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott tragedies is that I heard about them and was almost numb. More killings. More hashtags. I'm exhausted. It's almost becoming commonplace for another black person to be gunned down by rogue police officers. If my car breaks down or I have a broken taillight, or any number of asinine reasons, I could be next. And that's just a fact.

I've written in the past about how I'm proud to be American. And that remains true. But I'm embarrassed right now. I'm embarrassed that a bigot and racist could become the next President of the United States. I'm embarrassed that other countries feel the need to issue travel warnings to their citizens about coming to the United States because they could potentially be shot by police if they aren't too careful. I'm embarrassed that our law enforcement are the ones committing senseless acts of violence when they are supposed to be the ones protecting us. I'm simply embarrassed. And it hurts. It hurts that I'm in an abusive relationship with you, America. I love you, but you don't seem to love me, or people who look like me, back.

What's worse is that as I look at my Facebook feed, the only people I see speaking out against police brutality are my black friends. But we can't fight this fight on our own. Where are our allies? Where are those same people outraged by Colin Kaepernick's protest? The same people who have so much respect for the National Anthem?

Their silence is deafening. 

Sincerely,

An exhausted, outraged, and tearful black American woman

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King Jr.