Ignoring The Black Influencer 

For years, the Black influencer has been ignored by most major brands. Even though Black travelers added 63 Billion dollars to the American travel industry, these travelers rarely, if ever, see themselves in advertisements on any form of media. Seeing yourself in media is something White people take for granted.

You are accustomed to seeing beautiful White women and men frolicking on a sandy beach as if they don’t have a care in the world. You even see this in advertisements for predominantly Black countries.

This is an ad for Sandals in Barbados. According to Visit Barbados, the island is 92% Black. If that’s the case, why do most of the hotel and recreational advertisements feature non-Black people? Major publications from Forbes to Essence are bringing attention to the movement started by The Black Travel Alliance.

It will be interesting to see how brands react to this call to action. It would be so nice to be included in the campaigns brands almost always give to White travel influencers with much less experience than me and my Black colleagues.

It’s stressful being Black and well-traveled

Racism is not going to be cured because it is a condition rooted in people’s hearts. But you can be a racist and still hire me. It has been done for years. I worked for the “happiest place on earth” and had to leave because the double standards were blatant and egregious.

In my position as an Adventure Guide for Adventures by Disney, even after continually proving I was better than most, I was never allowed to grow. The feedback received was was even though guests loved me, there was a problem.

When I wasn’t talking and just sitting by myself, my face looked angry and it made the guests uncomfortable. I had to make sure that my resting face was appealing to the guests. No one else was told that. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.