New Entries

As the History Of Black Travel timeline is a living document, we welcome and encourage new submissions from the community to support this ongoing co-creative process. When submitting a proposed timeline entry, please be sure to include the following – and consider the inclusion and exclusion criteria below.

Inclusion Criteria

• Entries must have a clear significant impact on the positive advancement of Black travel (i.e. the first person, organization or development to achieve something, the only one of its kind, a moment or historical event which influenced Black travel for years to come, etc).
• Entries must have a clear link to influencing Black travel specifically.

Exclusion Criteria

• Entries that are tangentially related to travel (i.e. hospitality), but do not clearly link to:
  (1) Black travel or
  (2) A significant positive advancement of Black travel

Timeline Entry Format Criteria

• Date: American date format – Month, Day, Year
• Title:  Short, descriptive and catchy!  All words in the title should start with a Capital Letter.
• Country:  If related to a person, where they are from or where the activity took place.  If the activity took place in multiple countries, then,  list where the major action or event took place.
• Description: Provide a description (minimum 100 words) clearly detailing the key elements of the timeline entry to include when, who, what, where, and Black travel significance. Be sure to work the exact date or year into the description. It is VERY important that your description clearly links the importance of the entry to Black travel specifically.
• References: Please provide 2-3 primary references (i.e. books, journal articles, reputable websites etc) using Chicago style citation format.
• Image sources: Please provide at least 1 image with explicit permission to be used on the History Of Black Travel timeline website. 

Key Terms

When submitting your timeline entry, please follow the rules for the following key terms.  

• B is always capitalized when referring to Black people. 
• African American should NOT be hyphenated.  
• Black American and African American can be used interchangeably.   These terms should only be used to refer to Black people from the United States.  
• Black people from other parts of the world should be referred to as Black + Nationality.  For example, Black Canadian, Black British, Black Jamaican, etc. 
• Use the words  “slave or slaves” only if quoting original text or legislation. All other references to African people in bondage should aim to use Enslaved African(s) or Enslaved Black people. 

Timeline Categories

The History Of Black Travel timeline entries are grouped into twelve main categories including:

• Ally: A non-Black person or corporate entity that has significantly helped to inspire or progress Black leisure travel.
• Accommodations: Black-owned guest houses, motels, hotels, and resorts; often the first in a particular city, state, country.  Also, those that welcomed Black leisure travelers during slavery, segregation, and the Jim Crow era.  
• Explorers: A Black person, often the first or one of the first to achieve a major milestone within a previously unfamiliar area that required a massive undertaking.   
• Government: Major court rulings, laws, programs, and initiatives by city/state/federal governments that have influenced Black travel.
• GroundBreakers: Well-known figures (politicians, actors, artists, influencers, etc.) that have traveled somewhere which then directly inspired Black travel.
• Leisure: Ground-breaking developments by a Black person or company/organization that has significantly helped to inspire or progress Black leisure travel.  Often the first, or one of the first developments, this includes the development of things to do and experience on vacation including cultural activities, festivals, and major events, outdoor activities, food and drink, wellness, etc. Specifically:
  • • Culture: historic sites, museums and galleries, cultural and historic tours, roots tourism, etc. 
    • Events: celebrations, major events,  festivals – culture, music, carnival, etc.  
    • Outdoors: beaches, birding, biking, camping, fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting, national parks, nature, water sports, winter sports, wildlife viewing, etc. 
    • Food & Drink: Black-owned food tours, wineries, distilleries, breweries, etc.  (not  individual restaurants unless it is really historic)
    • Retail: shopping, farmers’ markets
    • Wellness:  medical / health tourism, spa, yoga retreats, detox resorts, etc. 

• Migration: Mass movement of Black people voluntarily for education, jobs, and a better way of life that then led to an increase in leisure travel.
• Organizations: Black travel industry associations, organizations, charities, community groups focused on advocacy, education, professional development, etc in the Black travel space.
• Publishing: Travel guide books, travel fiction, travel journals, etc. that played a significant role in the progress of Black travel. 
• Slavery: The enslavement of Black people and major acts of resistance.
• Television:  Travel TV shows, presenters, and general programs that have inspired Black leisure travel.  
• Transportation: Developments and major milestones by a Black person or company/organization specific to travel via airplane, automobile, buses, boats, cruises, trains, etc.

If you have an entry that matches the criteria outlined above, click on the SUBMIT TIMELINE ENTRY button below to get started.