Deirdre Amola on Life in Bali and Creating Black Travel Fest
BY LEROY ADAMS
We happened to interview Deirdre the week that George Floyd was murdered. But for Deirdre, it was a reminder of how unsafe the Black body is in the United States. The question: “What is a safe space when you’re in a Black body?” set the tone of her interview. Her response: curated Black travel experiences created through an HBCU lens as both a safe space and a sense of freedom. What we loved most about Deidre’s interview was that she offered tips on how you can create your own travel experiences for safety and freedom.
“When I made Black Travel Fest, I wanted it to mimic the HBCU experience. There’s something magical that happens when you get that many Black people in one space on one agenda…”
birthplace: South Carolina
current Location: Bali, Indonesia
occupation: Founder of Black Travel Fest
When I made Black Travel Fest, I wanted it to mimic the HBCU experience. There’s something magical that happens when you get that many Black people in one space on one agenda because they’re on a trip... like everyone’s going through everything at the same time. And also, you’re in a safe space because you’re outside of America. What we accomplish, the breakthroughs and experiences that people have, while we’re traveling on our events, we couldn’t recreate that inside the borders of America.
The Black Community In Bali
So, it’s about 60 of us, but it’s hard to get everyone together in one place at one time. But, we’re going into a weekly Sunday dinner and meetups on Tuesday. In one sense, it’s like this is all we got, but in the other sense, you still kind of gravitate to the people that you connect with. I have two friends that I hang out with, I rock with them so hard. They’re from North Carolina and South Carolina. They’re amazing. And yesterday, we met a couple that moved with their three kids. There’s a lot of diversity in terms of the life circumstances of the [Black] people who are living here. But we do get together.
On dealing with the naysayers and inspiring others...
I don’t know if you guys have seen the meme of the horse that’s tied to the chair and the elephant that’s tied to a chair. And they’re just sitting, waiting for whoever tied them up to come back. Every time I see that meme, I think about our [Black] peers who are in the U.S. who have the skills to easily start an online business tomorrow and be out. But, in their minds, they can’t leave. That tears me up... I think that’s the biggest barrier - the perception that it’s not feasible. That’s kind of the challenge that I’m working on now. The people who are ready to go, I’m like, I got you. But the people who are still in this mental cage of I can only exist in this American context, I want to reach them. But I don’t know how yet.
Click here to check out the extended interview on The Buddy Pass podcast!