When I least imagined it, I realized I wasn’t alone – 02/01/2024 – Guia Negro

Here, in the middle of the Sahara Desert, a movie plays in my head, about when I started my journey around the world. The year was 2009, a university student curious about places beyond Brazil. In 2011, I was, unexpectedly, organizing a trip with my cousin to South Africa. At a time when the world of the internet and smartphones was on the rise. It was the revolution, but without much information about destinations and itineraries.

A time when traveling was considered something of a luxury, where it seemed to be very distant from people who came from an exclusionary social, financial, racial and gender context. In addition to my story, traveling the world and intensely since 2017, the internet has allowed me to be noticed, but not seen! I was noticed by black women and people who live in my circle of friends and family as a traveler. There she was consolidating herself as a reference: the black traveler! As soon as I was presented in the spaces.

Traveling as a black woman alone was, yes, an exception, but never a rarity. At Lake Issyk-Kul, in Kyrgyzstan, I met a black woman traveling, making me smile! In the world of social media, I also saw other women like me inspiring by traveling, but once again, a rarity.

In 2018, when many women began to gain visibility and share their platforms and businesses, an unequal universe was notorious when it came to travel and black women. Unequal in terms of openness, visibility, number of trips made, locations, financial issues, level of education and, of course, skin color.

Women travelers

After many face-to-face and virtual meetings, many black women had no voice in a dialogue, being overrun by the interviewer, putting more about theirs than mine. I remember a case, where a live broadcast would take place and the photo of the interviewee, in this case black, was released, a photo of a non-Brazilian woman. When questioned by the collective, the company claimed that it was because the traveler did not have a photo on her social network profile with the platform’s color palette. It is worth mentioning that they never asked her if she had it.

Another case was when an interviewer asked about trips abroad, mainly Europe, at all times. When the interviewee really wanted to talk about Brazil, that is, at all times “the outside” was praised or as if the traveler would only gain this title if she went abroad.

Black women travelers

Black women’s groups are nothing new! We have great, shining examples from the US and UK. Inspiring movements, but we have two barriers that distance us, they are: the English language and foreign currency.

Living in the USA or Europe can be less difficult to travel and travel the world. And as for us, black women travelers from the global South Americas, where are we left? As Lélia Gonzalez, our reference thinker when it comes to Africanness, says, we are so similar when it comes to the Americas.

Bitonga Travel

Understanding our Americanness and recognizing our sisters from South America and the Caribbean, the collective has a focus that goes beyond Brazilian women. The Bitonga Travel collective, which gives visibility to black women since December 2018, has included women from Peru, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and was seen as a bridge by African women from Portuguese-speaking countries such as Mozambique, Angola and Cape Verde.

Here in Brazil, the collective has women from all states, ranging from 18 to 70 years old. The collective, in addition to enhancing the entrepreneurship of black people in tourism, also gives wings to more women to learn about their stories, creating affective networks that go beyond travel.

The collective’s goal is to make more black women travel alone and autonomously. We know that violence against women, sexism and feminicide in Brazil are high and, unfortunately, public policies do not protect us. To feel safer from a racist society, we take collective trips with black women, providing empowerment through belonging around Brazil and the world.

Meetings and connections

Throughout my traveling journey I have realized how much I have empowered black women and Afro-entrepreneurship. One of the activities that I am most proud of is thinking that, in countless ways, black women were impacted by the black women travelers movement and by Rebecca Aletheia.

This movement has been taking shape with meetings in the virtual world on a national and international level. When I’m present, many people show up, as they are inspired by the way I travel: immersive and spontaneous. A real life of a traveler, who during the week saves his pennies, goes to work by bike, takes a snack to work, or vice versa, and whenever necessary he is in luxury.

I consider my trips unique and, therefore, I understand that many black women have made the move to travel with me, as I demonstrate in practice the possibility of power.

Is there really no room for white women and men? It’s not about space, the idea is that we can also form possibilities to build a society that knows how to respect us as women and black women. In the process of a better world, I, Rebecca Aletheia, am willing to show that we need to change. At this moment, what we have done is welcome ourselves and when we go out to travel, the world needs to be prepared so that we can live in harmony. Can I count on you?