Life abroad is different when you’re a Black traveler or person of color. While we should never let that stop us from traveling, we need to be aware that we could face acts of discrimination abroad and some countries are worse offenders than others.
I’m sharing three of those worst countries for Black and POC travelers so you can be prepared for any future trips.
38 Comments
Hi Nicole, first time watching one of your videos; don't know why it was "algorithm-ed", but here we are. As a black American woman married to a native Italian man for 35 years, with 2 adult children, you are spot on. One summer we were with my infant daughter (who looked Italian) at the beach, and other Italians were telling my in-laws how great they were to rescue me from Ethiopia and give me a job watching their granddaughter. When my in-laws corrected that I was American, the whole demeanor changed. It didn't matter to me…that as a black American I was acceptable, but as any other black person…person non grata. That was 30+ years ago, hasn't changed. So, when I read about black American women divested and fawning about going to Italy where they are wanted and loved…a delusional bill of goods…and I have it "easier", as I married into an Italian family. (back story…my husband and I met in the U.S. (23 yrs old), when he was on a NATO assignment.
Hola Nicole, me gusto su video. Yo soy Colombiano y mi esposa es Americana, de decendiencia Africana. Hace unos años, ella y yo, estabamos viviendo en Barranquilla y Cartagena de Indias. Cuando estabamos de paseo en esas dos ciudades, los costeños nos miraban y pensaban que ella era de Palenque y que yo era el extranjero. La razón por ese pensamiento era porque no tengo un acento Colombiano en mi español. Este porque muchos de ellos me señalaban (👍) o me decian a mi, que bueno que me encontre y me case una negra Colombiana. ¿Porque dicen eso? Porque el costeño, con sangre negra, conoce muy bien el racismo y la discriminacion en Colombia. Les da una alegria saber que unos de ellos va tener una major vida en el exterior. Aqui en Colombia se puedes vivir tranquilo, pero es mejor cuando estas cerca de tu gente. Saludos 👋 desde Medellín, Colombia. Chao… 😎
As a person of colour, I remember going to Spain and hearing a woman next to me in a PUBLIC PARK suggest to another woman that my backpack was a "bomba mochila". I just gave her a nasty stare and remained right there. I am a tall guy, so whenever I pick up on these 'racist vibes', I literally walk with my head in the air and ignore such persons. Lol
I've been to Italy, with my black family almost every summer, in the past 5 years, and NEVER felt racism. The service there is top notch. Very welcoming, never felt racially offended ever!
Nah they just treat black women this way. Primarily because of your reputation already.
As a Native (Lakota) person, gentle reminder that Christopher Columbus was from Genoa Italy and sailing on behalf of Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. Both countries brutally colonized countries in Africa and North and South America. Rome is in Italy and we've all been taught about the Roman Empire. European mentality really hasn't changed. What's weird is that Northern Europeans don't consider southern European countries such as Spain and Italy as important as countries in the North.
I refuse to subscribe to fear. I definitely won't travel to Italy, but my mom did business in China. Chinese people are ignorant of the black experience, but I would not call it racism. Unless you meet a racist Maybe South Korea
4:50 why did she have to get up why are we still fighting battles for other groups when we have a lot already ? She put you in a tough situation. I will not be visiting any of these countries unless it's a business deal. thanks for sharing but this was honestly expected from this list.
Now did you learn anything?
One thing I don’t understand about people who work in expensive retails etc and they are racist towards people as if they are selling there good personally and not a worker like where does the priority of being a worker to people spending money come fron
Bruh I thought Spain and Italy were civilised…. I'm sorry you had a negative experience 🥲
I don’t understand why people can’t treat others like individuals and overcome their lizard brain prejudices. So frustrating.
but then they wanna act surprised ppl get curious about their faces and mainly their eyes….the nerve!
these whyte asians have a lot of the features whytes have so……
that is a lesson for bahlack girls/women stop sacrificing self shouldve let those whyte girls handle the situation themselves. bw gotta learn to stop defending and trying to protect everyone else.
And it's 2024. Yeah, racism exists, but to THIS degree?! Seriously🫠
My cousin was forced to sit in the black cubicle in the back part of a train while traveling in Italy. She got on sat down next to a white guy when an Italian woman got up and started screaming at her in Italian. She couldn’t understand so the white dude next to her translated. The woman was basically saying how dare she sit there and that she needs to go and sit in black section. Because she was on her own and nobody was standing up for her she complied (personally I wouldn’t have been able to move out of sheer stubbornness and principles) this was a year or two before covid. I tell this story often because Italy is trash and everyone needs to know it. I also have friend who are biracial who grew up in Italy and suffered terribly.
I remember visiting Senegal last winter… I was shocked how racist real black people ( not you, american )were with the only white person in that country
y francia?
I spent a year in Italy. I loved it. I wonder you were but I was there in the late 90s.
Sadly it is EXTREMELY common in Europe to this day, so much so that brazilians sometimes pretend to speak only in english in portugal to avoid bein mistreated or ignored by the staff, and trust me, I hear complaints every single day from brazilians visiting portugal.
Your anecdote about China is interesting. A good friend of mine who is Bangladeshi and dark skinned travelled to China with his wife. He told me he had random Chinese people coming up to him to talk pictures. They weren't being rude or anything but just wanted a picture with him. He said he even caught someone of them trying to sneakly take a picture of him with themselves in it.
Should we really be surprised that two of these three countries are racist af, when historically they were big with the slave trade?!
Spain & Rome Italy…
Aren’t Chinese people not POC too?
Why are you going to places where the people don’t like you? If you have family there to visit that’s one thing. But why are you going to a place that historically doesn’t like you and then make a video to complain. You don’t make sense.
My cooking teacher in highschool was Asian and she said she was treated awfully in Italy, she said even her white American friends were treated bad too though. They went to a restaurant and when they sat down they didn’t even let them order any food they just brought out a plate of cold fries and ketchup and glared at them till they left.
My cooking teacher in highschool was Asian and she said she was treated awfully in Italy, she said even her white American friends were treated bad too though. They went to a restaurant and when they sat down they didn’t even let them order any food they just brought out a plate of cold fries and ketchup and glared at them till they left.
We believe you, but I just left Barcelona and had a good time. I was only there for a week though and stuck mostly to touristy parts. I'm not sure why black people are surprised to be met with racism in Europe. Wasnt Italy down with Hitler during WWI? That won't stop me from traveling anywhere..🎉
Not Spain. I love Spain…I mean I love Barcelona. Football fan here. So I want to visit someday. It’s one of the reason I only travel home to Nigeria for vacation. Nowhere else pleases me more than the motherland. It is what it is.
I'm from the UK and I pointblank refuse to spend my money anywhere my colour is disrespected
Thank you for your share!! Can you please give insight on a way to learn to speak Spanish and Italian. I know a little Spanish and have been working on Portugeses. I get what you are saying about Italy as we were treated well in the outskirts of Italy as opposed to Rome. Good insight as I am interested in Spain traveling there just know that it and Italy are not pleased with the influx of Americans coming. I have heard great things about from POC that are expats but associated in areas they knew to be welcoming!!!
I would never eat at a place who didn't want me there. No telling what they do to your food.
But shame on all those ppl
I was in Spain in June 2024 and previously over 20 years ago. I never had a problem. I was also in Italy in June, no problem. I speak Spanish and I learned some basic words in Italian to get me by from Duolingo. I’m not disputing her experience. I’m just saying I didn’t have the same experience.
Italians loved kobe bryant
I've never been to Spain, so I am disappointed to hear that its very racist. I just assumed because it's in Western Europe that it wouldn't be.
Of all the people I know who travel… and that’s pretty much all of my friends and family, all of whom have been to all of the continents. The only places I have Ever gotten overwhelmingly negative recaps back from.. are Italy, Spain, and Egypt.
Egypt was a particular worst according to the women I know. They all said it felt extremely unsafe and there was high levels of harassment from local men and even to the level of following or lingering around their hotel room. And that is regardless of how they dressed or whatever other excuse. When accompanied by a group though, they all had a great time and enjoyed the food and of course the attractions.
I loved Madrid but not in Barcelona, very racist there. I'm Indian American.
Several years ago, I went on a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort, and had an absolute blast. It was almost like traveling to an alternate universe—because there's so many different kinds of people, from all across the world, speaking so many different languages.
Well, on the first day, we went to EPCOT, and I was shocked at the amount of Asian people who randomly stopped me to take photos of me—again, of me, not with me.
At first, I chalked it up to the fact that I had waist length box braids installed, and that they'd probably never seen a black person, up close, with that hairstyle. So, the first couple of times, I obliged. But, after the 3rd/4th time, I started saying no, because it was really freaking weird. Imagine having the audacity to ask a stranger if you can gawk at them and take their photos so you can go back and what? Show them to your friends and family, like some rare wild animal in a zoo 🤦🏽♀️