The world is vast, and the travel possibilities are endless. These three destinations are steeped in Black history and culture and are worth the jet lag.
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil: Considered the "Blackest city outside Africa" because of its 80% Afro-Brazilian population, Salvador is a beautiful mashup of Brazilian and West African history and culture. You can taste it in the Acarajé, a black-eyed pea fritter dressed in palm oil. It's also in the religion Candomblé, inspired by traditional African spirituality.
Cape Coast, Ghana: The Danes built Cape Coast Castle in Ghana in 1653. For centuries, British enslavers used it to hold captured Africans who passed through its Door of No Return before being shipped to the Americas. Thousands of their descendants now honor them by visiting what has been renamed the Door of Return.
The Door of No Return Memorial Arch, Benin: On a beach in Ouidah, along the coast of Benin, stands a memorial arch to commemorate the millions of enslaved people transported through Benin's ports.
We're the architects of our futures. Whether on a plane or with a book, we must reach back for the ancestral knowledge necessary to build a thriving Black world.