Barbados is thought to be the birthplace of rum in the 1600s, so it’s no wonder that Barbados and the spirit are intertwined. And when locals are keen to enjoy a tipple, their first stop…

There is nowhere quite like Colombia. I learned this nearly five years ago upon my first trip to the South American coastal country. Medellín was my initial introduction to the country’s stunning mountainous views and…

While most travelers may be well-versed in planning a beach vacation, some may not be aware that in the U.S., there are many historically Black beach towns that exist and flourish today — offering visitors…

It’s not at all an exaggeration to say that the Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of American music, more specifically, the blues. If this is true, then starting a music-forward road trip in New Orleans,…

Pristine scenery and wildlife aren’t the only reasons to visit U.S. state and national parks. Across the National Park System, you’ll find significant historical and cultural experiences available that include the contributions of African Americans….

Travelers have the unique opportunity to learn about diverse cultures born of the African diaspora while crisscrossing the globe. Its influence is present in almost every destination around the world. So Marriott Bonvoy Traveler checked…

When talking about food, one has to talk about movement. Food is not static and unchanging; it is a collection of stories, people and traditions carried from one generation to the next. And African influences…

Every year on June 19, a celebration known as Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free — officially marking the end of slavery in the United…

“Akwaaba!” That friendly greeting floated over to me several times from strangers bearing wide smiles upon my arrival in Ghana’s capital city, Accra. Casually denoting “welcome,” this nuanced word actually means “you’re welcome to this…

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Americana by giving tribute to the men, women and locations that are central to the civil liberties we enjoy in the present day. Black American contributions are…

From the Rosa Parks Museum, which sits in the very location where she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in which Dr….

Nelson Mandela’s international activism for peace brought a spotlight to Johannesburg, and it’s still shining, thanks to murals painted at grand scale across many city walls and buildings. President Mandela, beloved for leading his country…

When people visit Lisbon for the first time, they are taken aback by the city’s diversity, a legacy of Portugal’s deep history of exploration (and exploitation) of Africa, Asia and South America. Portugal’s roots in…

After 11 years of living in New York City, food writer Nichelle Stephens was ready for a slower pace of life and cheaper rent. But her biggest fear was settling in a new city that…

There’s a quiet secret many barbecue pitmasters only admit begrudgingly: Because they spend most of their lives smoking meat for others to enjoy, they generally avoid the style when they’re ordering food for themselves or…

Throughout the Caribbean and the Americas, Maroon Societies are communities of black people, the descendants of enslaved Africans, that developed in isolation — an experience that allowed for their African customs and even language to…

Civil Rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Celebrate his historic legacy with a trip to 10 places important to Dr. King’s life — as well to as the…

When Mario Rigby decided to walk from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt, the first person he told was his mother — and she supported his journey 100 percent. “She even went as far…

Houston is known for Texas hospitality and finger lickin’ barbecue, but if you’re any sort of music fan, you also know the city has long left its mark on the hip-hop music scene. As the…

Outside of South Africa, the word Soweto conjures up the most powerful image of the resistance against apartheid: an 18-year-old carrying the body of a 13-year-old boy fatally shot by South African police during a…

It will be hard for you not to want to visit Wakanda after you see Marvel Studios’ newest blockbuster “Black Panther.” There’s just one catch: You can’t. Well, sort of. The fictional nation is the…

Imagine you were traveling across the country by car, but certain restaurants and hotels were off-limits to you because of your skin color. African-Americans faced this dilemma until the mid-1960s because Jim Crow laws enforced…

Almost any step you take in Memphis can open a chapter of the city’s powerful civil rights story. At the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the narrative echoes in the sounds of integrated bands…

Flashback to 1973 and into the rec room of a Bronx apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Here DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy threw the ultimate back-to-school party. That night DJ Kool Herc…

During my first real trip to France, I set out to discover the “Black” Paris, asking a tourism official if they had any information to share. Lacking anything to give me, she finally pulled out…

I had vowed never to make the exhausting journey again. I spent the summer of 2016 traveling two hours each way on public transportation from Rio de Janeiro’s Zona Sul to Barra’s Olympic Park, where…

The newest museum on the National Mall is popular for sure. Timed tickets for the National Museum of African American History and Culture are snapped up as soon as they are released. You can take…