HTM Professor Alana Dillette creates History Of Black Travel timeline

Sponsored by Tripadvisor, the project is a collaborative effort between Tourism RESET and the Black Travel Alliance.

by Aleesia Benkey

February 25, 2022

The History Of Black Travel timeline was developed over hundreds of hours of research and development through the collaboration of the Black Travel Alliance, Tourism RESET, and the sponsorship of Tripadvisor. After nearly one year of development, the ongoing timeline was born: “History of Black Travel: A timeline tracing the history of Black travelers through the centuries”.

The vision of the project is “to work toward educating the public on how the African Diaspora traveled to every inch of the Earth, progressively making their mark within the travel industry, from centuries past into the present day.”

The research team is composed of seven members of the Black Travel Alliance Research Committee and the two co-Directors from Tourism RESET, SDSU’s Dr. Alana Dillete, and University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Dr. Stefanie Benjamin.

Alana Dillette of the SDSU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management was a core team member and one of two trained researchers in the methodology used to create the timeline.

Dillette notes the significance of this project in education and throughout the industry. “History not only tells us the story of our past but also informs our perspective as we move into the future. The History Of Black Travel timeline is a long-overdue tool for educators, researchers, and industry professionals to use in an effort to break down stereotypes and misconceptions of who the trailblazers in the travel industry really were,” shares Dillette.

“So often, Black people are plagued by the collective memory of slavery and the many injustices that followed. The History Of Black Travel timeline is an opportunity to shape-shift the narrative of Black travel history and own our stories – both the triumphs and the hardships.”

History Of Black Travel has created a first of its kind timeline denoting each and every impact towards Black travel and advancements made over time.

The timeline is an ongoing collaborative project allowing submissions to the timeline on their website. All the members of the research team played an important role in the development of the timeline.

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.

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