Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Johnson.
Hi Jess, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
For over a decade, I worked in the labor and political industry, where I traveled throughout the country meeting with people from all walks of life. I worked with people in an effort to assist them in building and maintaining their organizations so they would have a voice in their workplace, communities, and nationally.
Throughout my years of constant domestic travel, I started to notice there weren’t very many people who looked like me traveling in the airports on the days I would have to travel. When I would visit Black communities, regardless of the city, I would always be met with people who were surprised I was there to visit them and that I wasn’t from their state.
Many would express a desire to travel, and most would say what kept them from traveling, oftentimes, was not having anyone to travel with. So, this gave me the idea to create a community of people who want to travel and have it be focused on serving the Black community which is often times an underserved community when it comes to travel experiences abroad.
So, I established Meetup groups in the parts of the country that I worked and would visit often: Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and the DMV. However, because we would hold meetings initially, it attracted people from different parts of the country as well as people from different backgrounds.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been quite challenging building a community and business that is centered around travel. From establishing a team of trustworthy individuals to work with domestically and abroad to offering products and services that are a reflection of the vision I have regarding Black Travelers Network.
It’s always been my goal to extend professionalism in how we service the community, to offer high-quality travel experiences, and to have these travel events and experiences be a form of education that encourages growth at every age level of travelers.
It’s also important to give back to the community we serve, the places we visit and to encourage travel to all people.
This is not something that happens overnight, but it slowly happens over the years by working with a clear vision in mind. The struggles that we have encountered to date are quite numerous. We have had to end relationships with team members for compromising our quality of service. Unfortunately, we have had to say no to certain travelers because we felt they would lower the quality of the travel experience we offer.
The biggest challenge we have faced to date has been surviving a 2-year global pandemic when world travel was brought to a complete halt and now of course working through a recession. These are obstacles and struggles that directly impact travel, but we have amazing people on our team and some of the world’s best travelers.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Black Travelers Network?
What began in 2015 as a desire to take as many travelers on their first visit to South Africa, has now grown into a diverse group of people exploring the planet’s African diaspora together.
Black Travelers Network is the product of creativity and vision in how we introduce people to a country, their culture, and people around the world. We provide organized group travel experiences that focus on history and culture in specific destinations around the world.
Through the Black Travelers Network community, I’ve curated immersive history and cultural travel experiences that expand the thinking of our travelers who are people from different backgrounds from all over the world.
We’ve introduced our clients to places like Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Canada, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and the list goes on because we are setting our sights on breaking new ground in new destinations.
What sets us apart from others is we take a relationship approach in how we work with our travelers and our team members.
Our goal is focused on travel, but we also balance experiential learning, education, and giving back to communities.
It’s the moments where we have been able to give back to communities that makes me the proudest. Over the years we’ve donated sanitary pads to a village and schools in South Africa, camera equipment to a soccer team in Ghana, backpacks to children in the Dominican Republic, co-sponsored a weekend of domestic travel for middle and high school girls from Dallas, and contributed to young black men taking their first trip to Ghana. I’m sure there are other things we have done to give back, but this is the area where I would like to see us grow.
I’d like to invite readers to take the time to join us on one of our most fun travel experiences that happens in February / March of each year, and that is to join us in Rio de Janeiro for the world’s largest Carnival celebration in Brazil. This is the best way to be introduced to the Black Travelers Network team, brand, and services.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory is what started my career in travel, and at the time, I didn’t even know it. When I was in high school (15 years old), I entered an essay contest that was hosted by the Dallas Independent School District.
The prize for the winners was an all-expense paid trip to New York and Israel. I was 1 of 3 people who won. It allowed me to spend close to a month in Israel as a United States – Israel Student Ambassador. I traveled the country visiting Haifa, Holon, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and several other smaller areas. I lived with a couple of Israeli host families and met other students from different parts of the United States.
This is the trip that changed the course of my life. One of many wonderful childhood memories.
Pricing:
- starting $2,500
Contact Info:
- Website: blacktravelersnetwork.com
- Instagram: black_travelers_network_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blacktravelersnetwork
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackTravelers
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/BlackTravelersNetwork
Image Credits
Black Travelers Network
