Around the world racism has managed to slip through the cracks and go unnoticed by a wide majority. People don’t think they feel racism and they don’t believe their friends are racist, so they have a hard time wrapping their heads around it existing. How does it affect the travel industry?

Unfortunately travel that is not safe for some, is not safe for any. A person of color has many little things to worry about around the world that many white people do not usually think twice about. Having friends of color and many religions, I have paid attention to their struggles. Black people have been killed by cops who claim they were resisting arrest, or creating a violent situation in which the police feel threatened. White people have called the police on black people and reported false allegations that lead to a black person getting arrested for a crime they did not commit. White people have sadly been using 9-1-1 as a personal hotline rather than for emergency purposes. In some cases the white people guilty of this have been recorded in the act and it is helping shine light on the systemic racism happening everywhere.

I live my life as carefully as I can. I try not to hop on any “bandwagon” or trendy issues unless I get all of the facts, and there is an injustice happening. I try not to do anything that will get me in trouble with the law. I do respect the law and I respect those that uphold it. At the same time, I have been known to drive 5+ MPH over the speed limit, or I have also had off days where maybe I didn’t follow the law to the T and turned right on a red light without coming to a complete stop, or forgotten to use my signal when no one is around. Things happen but I am always working hard to mind those around me and be courteous. Now imagine a day where you are in the same boat with any of those items mentioned, and you have to worry about being stopped, and actually arrested or even worse - killed. Imagine being handed a bad $20 bill somewhere and not realizing it was bad until you went to buy groceries, and rather than being questioned, that bill got you automatically arrested, and then the police killed you without any cause. Imagine going to bed in your apartment after long hours in the medical field during a pandemic, only to be woken up by gunfire in your apartment and dying after 8 shots to your body that were fired by police who didn’t announce themselves, were in plain clothing, and not even there to arrest you or your significant other. Imagine playing cops and robbers with your friends in the park with toy guns one day as a kid and getting gunned down by police who claim you are a threat. Now imagine sitting in a crowded movie theater to watch a popular movie with other adults, babies, and children, and someone enters carrying major assault rifles and opens fire. Spraying everyone around you, including the babies. The murderer gunman is arrested and protected as well as escorted away unharmed by police, and you witness this after you’ve lived your life in fear of getting in trouble for something non-violent.

All of these scenarios and more are real events. It is unjust. Even in circumstances much less extreme than these, racism runs rampant through the streets, living in the minds of so many. Racism has infiltrated our school systems, our law enforcement, our politics, our travel industries, and everywhere with any power to harm a person just based on the color of their skin. Words are thrown out on the daily that are rooted in slavery and harm. They are thrown around by white people who claim no malicious intent, however, the word itself is malicious and should not be used. Ever.

I have seen many reports of the media talking about Black Lives Matter as a movement but I have not heard anything about what it means. Many hear Black Lives Matter and assume it’s meant to imply their lives matter more than another life. This IS NOT AT ALL what it is about. Black people have been in danger and have lived in fear always because we have turned a blind eye to racism not believing in it. People have let things slide at home and around families because we don’t want to accept an ugly side of someone that we want to believe cares about us and others. We cannot accept when a person is so good to some, that they could possibly be bad to others. Please understand that Black Lives Matter is calling attention to black people needing help. Protesting is an American right but people get mad at messages they do not understand. It comes across as radical when a person does not do their own research. It comes across like there are more invisible lines dividing all of us than what are actually there. The KKK and white supremacists are all openly proud and are involved in groups we trust. These are not made up groups. It can be hard to know who is good, what side is right, and where you stand when reports circulate that one side or another hires people do make the other side look bad. The bottom line is where you stand on racism. That is really the whole point in the movement. If you want to see an end to racism, you support black lives matter. If you believe people of other races need to be harmed, in prison based on the color of their skin, or eradicated, then you are a racist and you take a stand against Black Lives Matter. That is all this boils down to. Many are trying to make more out of all of this than what’s there. The media is not being unbiased in any of this. They are not reporting stories of racism that everyday people experience. They are reporting and somehow leading people to believe that the deeper meaning is that cops need to die or be harmed because they are all bad. There should not be any bad cops to represent the law and people who are supposed to serve and protect the communities. Many cops are not okay with racist cops representing them. There are police officers of every color. It is hard to understand how we let racism infiltrate a system like that from the outside. That is why I choose to go inside and get personal, first hand accounts of what is going on.

I started this blog for travel only. World events affect travel immensely and it is important to understand how. What I learned from going to a protest, investigating for myself, and speaking directly with black people remind me how much it affects travel for all. I want this blog to be helpful and useful information for all who want to travel and who read it.

I read a story and I would love to cite it but it was long enough ago that I do not have it available anymore, nor am I able to locate it right now. That being said, it was a story of a black couple. The man needed to run somewhere and needed a bag to carry some stuff. He planned on walking to his location that day. His girlfriend offered a bag she had that would support the items he needed to carry. Her bag was pink. He declined the bag and the girlfriend wanted to get defensive because she believed it boiled down to a masculinity issue. The reality is much more sad and frustration. He had to explain that if an officer saw him carrying a pink bag, they would assume he stole it and his odds of being arrested, and potentially being harmed would go up tremendously. I have also learned of stories where if a black man has a picture of a white woman on his phone (even his girlfriend or someone he has perfect rights to that photo of), and is caught by police in some places, he can be arrested just for that.

If you are a person of color traveling, traveling with a person of color, or have a person of color traveling to see you, it is important you are aware of potential threats people of color face. Minor things like color of baggage, clothing, or any number of reasons may alert authorities to their presence. These are fears many live with on a daily basis.

Travel is a way for all people to come together and share an experience in a world we all share. All must feel safe whether they are in their hometown, or thousands of miles from their hometown. There is a trip and a method of travel for everyone and discrimination has no place in something that enlightens the mind and soul of those who experience it. I love being part of an industry where experiencing many types of people is at the root, however, I encourage all to push the standards of that industry to weed out racism, homophobia, and any other form of discrimination that makes any person feel unsafe. I implore everyone to take what’s happening from media and fill in the rest for themselves. It is important we stop putting material things over lives, idolizing people in history who mistreated other people no matter the color of their skin, and send the message to all that we are all people. Slavery is an ugly part of the United States’ history, and a big part of history of the world as well, but it is time it stays in history and we stop sending the message that history is one we must display as though it were a badge of honor. Many Americans don’t want that part of history to represent who we are today and yet turning a blind eye to racist events, allowing statues honoring the memory of someone who fought for the right to own slaves and put money above life, to remain standing proudly, and many more messages, all tell a story that we want to continue to keep people of color feeling less than a white person.

The most important thing you can do for your fellow man is listen. You don’t always have to say something in return, but listening is the first step. Many feel unheard and so much more can be resolved if you just listen to the stories, the struggles, and the successes of others. There will be no moving forward if we get stuck in the issues of yesterday without learning how to get through them.