Traveling while black is constantly being reminded of your skin color.

Who doesn’t dream of traveling the world? I started at age 19 and went to Spain first, then Taiwan, then China, then decided that I never want to stop. I did not know that traveling while black was even a thing. It was my mother who, before letting me go anywhere, would always ask the same question in French, with her Beninese accent:

Mais ils aiment les noirs là-bas ?

“But do the people there like black people ?”

As if I could possibly know the answer before going. I don’t have one memory of a bad trip. But every time I came back home, I did have a vague idea of how black friendly a country or its people were and I learned that parts of my experience abroad are only relatable to other black travelers.

If you are black and worried about how you will be perceived when traveling while black, well don’t be. As I said earlier, the only way to know is to go. That said, if you are visiting regions that are likely to have few black people, I suggest you prepare mentally for special treatment.

Let’s be real: people can behave inappropriately at times. I made this infographic because the world needs to start treating black people better. So help me spread the word and let’s dive into it. I present to you the 5 things I believe just kill the joy of traveling as a black person and my advice to overcome it (more details after the infographic).

1. Being the center of attention

I fell in love with Asia after visiting Taiwan and its very respectful people, so I expected to receive the same treatment when traveling in China. How foolish of me! Shanghai, which I thought was a big and advanced cosmopolitan city was actually filled with self-proclaimed paparazzi and people touching my braids. Yeah, that was uncomfortable AF.

I know that white people also get a lot of attention in non-white countries. But it really is surprising at first because you don’t know if they’re treating you like a zoo animal or if you’re genuinely the first black person they’ve ever met but even in that case, stare at me from afar please! I remained patient and kind to people because I am calm by nature. Or was it because I felt pressured to represent the entire black community? Hopefully I’ve set the path for all future black travelers. Yay… Wait, I shouldn’t have to shrink myself for acceptance. But that’s a topic for another time.

Let me clarify the above: not all Chinese people will invade your privacy. Some advised me to refuse pictures and some were visibly supporting me. This experience allowed me to make cool friends. Eventually, the 6 months I spent in China were unforgettable! So my advice is to stay cool if you can, and try to make the most of a situation which you will have no control over (they’ll take a sneak peek anyway).

2. Being compared to a black celebrity

black man celebrity

If at least I was compared to Beyoncé or Michelle Obama… I met people who thought I was an American basketball player. MALE. People sometimes just wanted to flatter me but other times I could genuinely see in their eyes they believed I was Oprah!

It is absolutely normal to be curious about someone who looks different. But the comparison to a black celebrity is pointless. If I say I’m American, you can talk about Trump or Obama. But don’t say I look like Obama… it just doesn’t make sense.

Most of the time I ignore these comments. Here’s the thing about traveling through Asia, you’ll meet annoying people. Some will touch you or take a picture without your consent, and in the countryside, some will even cover their nose or change their seat when you enter the subway. Don’t take it too personally, I simply take it for ignorance. It is the only answer that makes sense.

3. Having to prove your identity

i am a queen gif

Having to show your ID to locals or other travelers is not fun. When I say I’m French I shouldn’t have to explain why. Seriously what is wrong with people? I once had to explain to an American guy I met in Taiwan that not all French people are white. He could not get over it and kept asking “yes but where are you really from?“. Sigh. Black Europeans have been a thing for centuries! Have you ever heard of Alexandre Dumas?

If on your journey you find yourself in that situation, I recommend to calmly explain where you are from. In my opinion, it’s the fastest way to end the discussion and move on. But if you know of a solution, do us all a favor and share it!

4. Being the subject of racism

Now that one is not a shocker, right? We are accustomed to discrimination in our own countries. But on vacation we expect to just be in peace. Watch the video above to see what this youtuber experienced when she went to Egypt. It is shocking and reflects some realities of traveling while black. Sadly, black men are more likely to be assaulted on holiday, to be controlled for a longer time by airport authorities and women to be denied access to a bar or service at a restaurant. Some women (not just black) are even mistaken for prostitutes.

And as if people weren’t enough, turns out machines can be racist too! Airport scanners have a harder time determining what a black person’s thick hair is and sometimes qualifies it as dangerous. On the same topic, people are begging Amazon to stop selling a facial recognition technology that has high error rates identifying dark skinned people. And they’re selling it to the police! How ridiculous is it that they haven’t thought about that?

We live in a world where black people don’t feel safe. If you’re concerned about racist treatment abroad, browse the Internet to find reviews from black travelers, get on social media and forums to ask people and locals about their experience in your target country. You could even consider contacting black travel businesses if you think you will feel more comfortable and safer traveling with a black travel group. Before going anywhere, many of us google “traveling while black in ___”. That is not normal.

traveling while black in

5. Being unable to find black products

black woman hair care

Now let’s define black products: I am mainly referring to black cosmetics. Imagine having your luggage stuck in the middle of nowhere, you are supposed to attend an important business meeting in Copenhagen, where you’ll meet important people. I know I’d want to look my best, with good hair, nice make up, cute clothes.

A white woman with straight hair could simply go to the store and buy what she needs or get a hairdo. A black woman would not be able to do that because she wouldn’t find foundation that fits her dark skin, and wouldn’t be able to go to the hairdresser to have her vacation hair fixed because white hair salons can’t always deal with 4C hair.

My advice here is self-explanatory, bring along everything you need, whether it’s a wig, your African body lotion, your hair oils and conditioners, just everything but in small quantity.

One more thing…

Between us, the list could go longer. Luckily, meeting another black person during your trip can straight up make your day. One look at each other and you feel the sense of community, no matter where the other person comes from. And that is beautiful.

We all have our unique views and experience when traveling and some of them are more positive than others. In the end, we should not let obstacles prevent us from enjoying ourselves. Traveling is about exploring, meeting people and learning from their culture. Tolerance and open mindedness is the best lesson to be learned.

Traveling while black infographic:

Traveling while black infographic
Tweet, Pin and share it 🙂

I can’t finish this section without mentioning “Traveling While Black”, an award-winning virtual reality documentary that describes how African American travelers were treated in the Jim Crow era. Someone had the idea to make a “Green Book” for black people to find safe spaces to sleep at, at a time when black and white couldn’t be mixed. If you haven’t had a VR experience yet, I urge you to make this VR documentary your first, especially since it won an Academy Award and was presented at the Sundance Film Festival. When you do, come back here to let me know how it felt.

What are your views on traveling while black? Can you relate to this? Let me know in the comments and make sure to share it with your friends too 🙂 

Lisez cet article en français.


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13 thoughts on “5 Things That Kill the Joy of Traveling While Black [Infographic]

  1. 💪🏿💪🏾💪🏽💪🏼💪🏻💪👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏🏻👏
    T’es une championne bravo l’artiste !

  2. Interesting. I’ve traveled out of the state but not out of the country. I look forward to when God blesses me to be able to travel around the world, I’ll keep this tips in mind. Thanks for sharing!

  3. I had no idea that Alexandre Dumas was black. I have learned something new. I am white. In the mid 1990’s I had a black girlfriend. I remember visiting Cornwall and Devon (remote parts of both counties) and people staring at myself and Alice. I am not sure this was just down to racism. Both counties lacked large ethnic communities so part of what happened may have flowed from curiosity (people not having seen many (if any) black people. Kevin

  4. Thank you for sharing your experiences — I can’t imagine what you must go through, and I really wish you didn’t go through these ordeals … it really irks me to my core that people still act this way … there’s NEVER a reason to discriminate based off of colour or gender or gosh knows what other reasons. I hope you still had some fun while traveling … I’m so sorry people treated you this way.

    My friend is African American and did some traveling last year. He said that his experience in Europe was generally okay, but he still experienced weird looks and was detained while his white friends weren’t … it blows my mind.

    Again, thank you for sharing your experiences. <3

    1. Hey Jenna thank you for your comments! Yeah not everything is pretty but my experience traveling has always been very positive nonetheless. These things will never prevent me from discovering the world. I can only recommend for the close minded to travel more, it might help them learn thoughtfulness and tolerance 😌

  5. OUTSTANDING ARTICLE! My junior year of college, I studied abroad for 4 months in Morocco then flew straight to Shanghai for an internship for 10 weeks. If I could describe living in China, I’d say it was an adventure I’d never want to relive. People were constantly crowding over me and taking unwanted photos of me and shoving their phones in my face with they were on FaceTime with friends. I was later told that people will act this way because they’ve “never seen a black per son before” which is hard to believe considering people in other Asian countries are just as dark as me, but whatever. My second week in Shanghai, I caught a taxi to my hotel and the driver physically assaulted me then stole ¥200 from me. I became depressed, stopped going to my internship and eventually wouldn’t leave my hotel room. After leaving Shanghai, I realized I developed social anxiety and being in crowds scared me. I know other black (specifically dark skinned like myself) that visited China and had a completely different and wonderful experience. It’s relieving to know that someone shares the same experience as me

    1. China is definitely overwhelming for black people and I salute black Africans who live there permanently 🙏. It’s sad that your experience resulted in a trauma because you’re black, when it should have been rewarding. This is why we need to keep talking about traveling while black, like you do on your blog! Way to go, girl! And thank you for your comment, I’m glad to see that some of my stuff makes sense to people ❤️

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