Tips for Anti-Racist Family Travel This Summer
If you are traveling with your little ones, do it mindfully
Tabitha here: Growing up with limited access and resources in Trinidad & Tobago, I could only dream of traveling the world. My life was centered around our little wooden home, our local church and my school in the nation’s capital. As I got older, most of my mother’s family became immigrants in New York City so it was a big treat when my extended family helped us afford tickets to spend the summer there. The world seemed so big. So vast. And so out of my reach.
Fast forward to today. Adam and I both feel incredibly grateful that we get to travel with our kids, that we can expose them to life both outside of our community and also outside of the U.S.A.
What is Travel?
Exposing kids to travel can take many forms. Sometimes it means a big journey by plane, train, bus or car, staying with family and friends AND it can also mean exploring a nearby park, museum or a new town. Exploring travel with kids can even happen without leaving your home: reading a book or watching a show to learn about other places, cooking foods from another country or simply using our imaginations to visit far off lands and try new experiences. For our daughter, any overnight trip to another person’s house is incredibly exciting (a hotel in the next town? Might as well be a monthlong journey around the world for her).
The Privilege of Travel
Still, taking a journey away from home can be an immensely privileged activity between the high costs (and these costs are only rising), the ability to take time off work and transportation that is not always accessible. For those looking to travel outside their home country, passports and visas may not be easily attained, even for some immigrants in our own community.
And part of raising anti-racist kids is having these convos with them so that their perspectives shift on the systemic inequities that make travelling away from home accessible to some and less accessible to others. If you’re traveling for the summer, one conversation starter can be:
“Not all kids get the chance to travel outside their home. We don’t assume that all kids took summer trips. Instead of asking our friends where they went over the summer, we can ask them more generally how their summer was.”
Some children spend the summer in school, taking classes, working or helping their families. Assuming that all kids get the chance to rest and rejuvenate through travel can make some children feel othered and can reduce their sense of belonging.
De-centering America For American Children
For American children, it’s so important to de-center this country for their little minds. It’s crucial for kids to see that people all over the world live in different ways, have different habits AND are also connected by our shared humanity. Fascism, racism and white supremacy seek to divide us and make us think that some countries are better or worse than others. In reality, the U.S.A. plays a big role in de-stabilizing other countries and extracting their resources for our own gain. Breaking apart this myth of American exceptionalism is key to building a global community for our little ones while acknowledging the (unearned and unfair) privileges afforded to them.
We may eat different foods but we still all want our kids to be happy, fed and well-adjusted.
We may work differently but we all want to afford a good life for ourselves and our loved ones.
We may speak different languages but we all want to communicate and connect with those we love.
We may have different cultural practices but we all want to be seen and acknowledged for the wholeness of who we are, including our culture and heritage.
Traveling away from home can be international and it can also be local within the states. Many different communities exist within the United States and traveling locally can be an incredibly enriching experience for families (if you’re looking for road trip ideas in the U.S., you might find inspiration and guidance from our Family Civil Rights History Road Trip).
HOW To Do Family Travel Through An Anti-racist Lens
Adam here: As Tabitha and I have had the amazing opportunity to travel the country and the world with our kids (we made sure to travel as much as possible before our youngest turned 2 while his plane ticket was free), we’ve also learned a bit about HOW to fuse our antiracist values with our travel practices through lots of trial and error. Traveling with intention, with the goal of reducing harm and supporting the communities we visit is possible.
Tabitha here: I wrote an article for Romper some time ago where I went into great detail about HOW to do this and we want to re-share that with you here as the summer gets into full swing and some families are exploring travel. These tips are relevant whether you are traveling across the globe or not even leaving your living room.
As you read, remember that planning can be a family activity. Kids can help plan as parents lead conversations with them connecting travel with equity and anti-racism. Library books can also be an important resource for kids in trip preparation. If you’re looking for guidance on talking with kids about topics like colonization, genocide and more, here are some conversation starters.
That’s it from us for today. Whatever you and your family are doing, we hope you are able to enjoy the summer the way you’d like. Summer can also be a stressful time for parents, between camps, summer school, and juggling kids at home for anyone who doesn’t have a local support network. If that’s you, we’re sending you best wishes that you get a moment of peace in there.
Tabitha & Adam