Bessie Coleman

(1892-1926)

“The air is the only place free from prejudice”

It can be difficult to stand out in a family of 12 brothers and sisters, but Bessie Coleman managed to do so by creating her legacy as the first Black woman to hold a pilot’s license in the U.S. Believe it or not, Coleman actually started as a manicurist in a local barber shop in Chicago during 1915. While she worked long hours in the shop, Coleman’s brothers would return with stories from their time serving in World War I in France. The thrilling war stories inspired Bessie to take action and learn to be a pilot. Seeing as she is Black and a woman, Bessie was not able to apply for school in various countries and instead decided to try a school in France. 

Bessie eventually graduated from Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation and received her international pilot’s license. When she returned home she shared footage of her many skills with public spaces that refused to support segregation. She showed audiences her famous “loop the loops” and figure 8’s in efforts to raise money and start her own aviation school. Bessie’s mission became traveling the U.S. and Europe to inspire Black people and women to learn to fly.

Unfortunately, during a test flight before a special performance in her home of Texas, Bessie fell from her plane and did not survive the crash. She passed at the young age of 34 but her memory lived on as the country mourned her death and spoke of her amazing talent. Bessie’s story sparked the idea for the birth of many aviation clubs across the United States in honor of her memory, and today we can see many accomplished Black pilots because of her innovative spirit.

Mae Jemison

(1956-present day)

“Some people say they feel very small when they think about space. I felt more expansive, very connected to the universe.”

Mae Carol Jemison was among the many Black women pioneers we learned about in our history classes. Her story is literally out of this world as she is the first Black woman astronaut to travel to space. Jemison had a wide range of interests growing up with her family in Chicago but science in particular intrigued her the most. After watching an episode of Star Trek and seeing the famous Nichelle Nichols portray the galactic sensation Lieutenant Uhura, Jemison was inspired to explore the wonders of outer space. 

After a long educational career and some time exploring her multitude of passions, Jemison established herself as a highly accomplished and well traveled doctor and engineer. She was fluent in four languages and even opened her own private practice as a doctor after serving a few years in the peace corps. Seeing the first American woman travel to space encouraged Jemison to fulfill her childhood dream and to apply to the astronaut program at NASA. After much rigorous training, Jemison officially traveled to space with a crew of 6 other people where they orbited the earth 127 times. Jemison spent 6 years at NASA until she retired in 1993. 

Mae Jemison’s contribution to Black history has influenced many of us around the world and even landed her a role on one of her favorite tv shows, Star Trek. It is her persistence in doing what she loves that inspires the Black community to explore more of life and reach for the stars.

Belinda Bennett

(1977-present day)

“Take charge of your life, make a stand in life where it matters, and open the gates for those following behind you…It should no longer be a man’s world. It’s a seafaring world and it’s for everybody.”

Captain Belinda Bennett is the first Black captain in the commercial cruise industry. Born in Saint Helena (UK), Bennett knew from an early age that she was very connected to the sea and ambitiously worked her way up the ranks in the maritime industry. Her strong patience and determination ultimately earned her a spot as Captain of the Windsor Cruise ship in 2016 where she was also recognized as the first woman to command a Windsor Cruise ship. 

Unfortunately but not surprisingly, Bennett had to experience many years of discrimination due to her being in a white male dominated industry and was often told she didn’t belong in her position. Although she had to deal with naysayers and the agony of leaving her family behind for six months to captain her ship, Captain Bennett made it a priority to show that she was more than capable of manning a commercial cruise ship and leading a crew. Bennett makes sure to establish great rapport with her crew and create an environment that is comfortable and welcoming to people of all backgrounds in order to maintain the harmony of the travel experience. Captain Belinda Bennett’s story serves as a testament that Black people should never be afraid of uncharted waters because they may find that the journey is an opportunity for transformation and growth.

Jessica Nabongo

(1984-present day)

“I really want people to enjoy the experience and fully indulge in it and I want them to look at the countries we’re visiting through their own eyes rather than through their cell phones.”

When we talk about modern day history that’s relative to travel, Jessica Nabongo is a significant part of that conversation. The Ugandan-American and Detroit native is recorded as the first African-American woman to travel to every country in the world. Yes you read that correctly. After a series of travel based job opportunities, Nabongo decided in 2017 to set a goal for herself to travel to every country in the world. Nabongo’s interest in world traveling started at a very young age as her parents would frequently take her on family trips around the globe. By the age of four, the young voyager had already been to countries such as Jamaica, Canada, and Mexico. Fast forward to her adult years and she has reached every country just within a couple of years, joyfully ending her journey in 2019.

Nabongo’s interest in traveling so often is to connect with people around the world. Through her journeys, she is teaching others and herself that we have more similarities than differences across the globe. By sharing her experiences through her platform, she provides a more authentic representation of countries that many people might prejudge and avoid visiting. Through her exploration of these countries, Nabongo is able to break the very limiting barriers that people are conditioned to believe about other countries and open up a variety of people to the wonders of traveling.

After accomplishing her goal of traveling to every country, Nabongo now runs her own boutique travel agency called Jet Black. The combined travel experience with her love of people allows Nabongo to bring people outside of their comfort zone and into a more enlightening space. One of the main missions of Jet Black is to bring more tourism to many countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and South/Central America. These countries will be able to build stronger economies through the benefits of tourism and international appreciation. If it were not for the efforts of people like Jessica Nabongo, many people would not have the opportunity to change their lives through the power of travel and human connection.

Crista Strachan

(D.O.B unknown-present day)

“I believe I’m helping Caribbean people through my platform as a content creator and just trying to show up in spaces, roles and ways that we aren’t conventionally present or expected to be in by telling my own personal stories and hopefully in turn encouraging someone else to do the same.”

Meet the carnival chaser turned travel influencer helping people navigate the beauty of the caribbean. Crista Strachan, more commonly known as Bahamianista, creates blogs and social media content showing that there’s more to island life than white sand beaches and coconuts. There’s an entire culture to be explored, especially when viewing her travels to different festivals like Carnival. 

Crista uses her Bahamian upbringing and her travel knowledge to share tips and tricks for having the perfect carnival experience as well as how to really have a luxurious and sometimes cost effective stay on some of the islands. Being so proud of her culture is what draws so many people to her platform. It can be hard to fully appreciate and experience Caribbean life at an all inclusive tourist villa. You have to be around the people! From how to prepare for your first “Jab Jab” to an inside look at a fancy resort, Crista’s videos are fun, informative and engaging for the millennial and GenZ viewers who use social media for the majority of their traveling know-how. 

It’s extremely important that now in a time where people are trying to make travel more accessible for Black people that influencers such as Crista are present on social media because it’s a clear representation that Black people can and should expand their horizons beyond their homeland and embrace the cultures around them.

These world travelers understood that their hunger for exploring unfamiliar territories was bigger than just their own inquisitive nature. Their curious and innovative spirit served as a representation of what Black people can do in this lifetime despite the many barriers that stood in the way of our progress and healing. Traveling is such an enriching experience, and for many years it was considered underutilized amongst the Black community because of racism, fear, and deep conditioning. The representation of Black people in various travel domains creates opportunities for the Black community to have experiences that were once only dreams for our ancestors.