Black American women, in my experience, are often looking for a comfortable, accepted place and community within societies that have continued to reduce the power and agency of a black woman. So, as I travel, I hope that maybe these opportunities will help me find a society that seeks to promote my agency and my body rights.
Read MoreI am Black, but my Blackness is not a homogenous identity marker. My Blackness is not defined by the stereotypes that have been placed on Black Americans through media perceptions and news outlets. Thus, I have decided the physical borders of the United States and the mental borders of U.S. hegemony and narcissism will not confine me. So, each time I go abroad, I strive to be understood, respected, and seen authentically without the stereotypes that have been placed upon me as a result of my race and nationality.
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As I personally sought to find where I fit, I took to the airport runway, went abroad, and never once looked back. In some places I have landed I was the only Black woman in sight, but in other destinations, I was one of many and in a sense, I “fit in”. However, as a Black American woman traveling, you will never fully “fit in”. Your “Americanness” puts you within a place of privilege compared to most black people around the world and your blackness in America causes a certain amount of subjugation in most American communities. So, when this reality hits, it hits hard, until you realize that the quality of your time abroad must not be defined by the ability to assimilate within a foreign culture. However, your time abroad must be defined by how much you learn about yourself.
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