FREEDOM TO ROAM: HOW JUNETEENTH INSPIRES BLACK TRAVEL

Every year when Juneteenth comes around, I sit with a mix of reflection and joy. It’s a celebration of freedom—marking the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas finally learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. But as I’ve grown in my love for travel and community, I’ve come to see Juneteenth not just as a moment in history—but as a mindset. Especially for Black travelers.

Because what is travel, if not freedom?

For generations, travel wasn’t something many of us could do safely or confidently. Our grandparents and great-grandparents carried Green Books just to make road trips across the country. The ability to move, to explore, to rest, to experience the world on our own terms—that wasn’t guaranteed for us. But now? Now we take up space in airports, on cruises, in far-flung cities, and on African soil itself. And that, to me, is one of the most beautiful expressions of freedom.

When I think of Juneteenth and Black travel, I think of the new joy we're writing into history. I think of sipping rum punch in Jamaica with friends, dancing at Afrochella in Ghana, or taking my sons on their first trip to Paris so they can see the world through eyes that feel limitless. I think of how travel lets us reconnect with our roots—whether it’s walking the streets of Salvador, Brazil, soaking up Gullah Geechee culture in the Carolinas, or discovering the wonders of West Africa for the first time.

But it’s also about freedom here, at home. In how we choose to explore our own cities, support Black-owned businesses, and build new traditions. Travel isn’t always about hopping on a plane—it can be about gathering your people, going to a nearby Black history museum, or even doing a Juneteenth road trip to places rich with our story. This freedom is layered, and deeply ours.

So as you celebrate Juneteenth this year—whether you’re barbecuing with family, vibing at a festival, or planning your next escape—remember that travel is part of this freedom. Every passport stamp, every group trip, every moment of Black joy abroad or at home is an act of reclaiming space that was once denied to us.

We are the dream of our ancestors in motion. And that’s worth celebrating far beyond just June 19th.

Happy Juneteenth, y’all. Keep exploring. Keep shining.