To Little Black Girls:

The world is yours to grasp,

to own, to hold

in the palm of your ready hands,

hands ready to

explore the wonders

of the world

until they are no longer

‘I wonder’s’

But ‘I knows’,

Till they are no longer

dreams but realities and

actualities,

because little black girl

the world is yours for the taking so

seize it.

Traveling as a black woman is a form of resistance. There’s the problem in our world where women, especially women of color, do not know that the world is theirs to explore, and this needs changing.

The bodies of black and brown men and women have historically been and are still to this day constantly under a threat. There have been so many limitations placed on our bodies for centuries – the limitation of movement being one of them. We have an incarceration system in the U.S. that is formed on a history of systemic racism and injustice, a system that basically tells young black and brown boys and girls that they cannot take up too much space unless it’s in a prison. We have Western countries placing limitations on Muslims, we have political leaders telling girls and women that they’re not to be respected, but just objects to be used and controlled by the men in their lives in any way they want. We have laws placing limitations on the control women have over their own bodies. The list goes on.

Going to a PWI, I've heard the endless stories of peers who have gone on these amazing traveling expeditions, trips, and vacations with their families. While these traveling opportunities are not only exclusive to my white peers (yes, I have heard amazing travel stories from my peers of color both at my PWI and my predominantly black high school), I have still noticed the higher level of traveling experiences that my white peers have had. Traveling has never been an option in my family, it has been the inconceivable opportunity. But I didn’t want those eye-opening experiences that my peers experienced from traveling to be just something that remained inconceivable, so I got my passport a year ago. I had no idea where I was going, with what money, or when I'd be going, but getting my passport was the first step. A year later after getting my passport, I took my first trip outside of the country to Madagascar, and have now been to 10 different countries in four months.

From financial considerations to issues of safety, to obstacles used for centuries to keep our bodies shackled, fettered, & bound by the white man’s law: this is why traveling as a black woman is resistance. It’s saying that I can and will take on & explore the world without anyone controlling my body, my freedom of movement nor my freedom of choice to go wherever I please. It’s an honor to those who came before us and struggled for the freedom and rights we see today — showing that their blood, sweat, and tears did not go in vain. It’s a clear message to young boys and girls & anyone of color, telling them that they can take up as much space as they want to in this world because the world is just as much theirs as it is anyone else’s.

We need to be constantly reminded that traveling isn’t an abstract idea or something out of the norm. We need our social media timelines to be flooded with pics and videos of black individuals and black women who travel, so much to the point where it isn’t something we view as extraordinarily unimaginable. We need traveling while black to become normalized & something viewed as attainable.

Traveling as a black woman is fulfilling, empowering, and it is bold as hell. It's my way of saying I can and I will explore this world, so when other brown girls see my blog and social media posts they'll know that they can too.

heyitskarla

Writing since May 2017 · 2 stories contributed