Black From Abroad

The Bahamas recently issued a travel warning for its citizens traveling to the United States. The notice advises against participating in protests, encourages caution when interacting with police, suggests avoiding cities where frequent clashes between cops and protesters are occurring. These are not unreasonable points to mention in a travel warning. One writer for Slate, however, wrote an article on how compared to the rate of violent crimes at home, Bahamians are safer in America. I’m not linking the article because I think it’s a disgusting derailment of the point. Travel notices exist to warn people about potential risks and dangers they may not think about. Countries with large Black populations need to consider interactions with police in America as a risk of travel here.

When my students in Guadeloupe asked me if America is racist, I said yes. When they asked what I liked about living in Guadeloupe, one of my top answers was that I felt safe there. I told them there were few places in America I could say that about. It felt urgent to me to tell these children that being Black in the USA carries a danger unknown in contemporary Guadeloupe.

Even other American teaching assistants on the island showed surprise and concern when I told them I was from Texas. “Isn’t Texas an extremely racist place?”

I was actually surprised how pervasive the image of rednecks toting confederate flags was as a representation of my state. I’m so used to my liberal circle in Houston: representing a diversity I have never seen in a film, frequent library patrons, working with non-profits. But when asked about Texas’ racism, my mind catapulted to cross-country road-trips with my family. I remembered passing through small towns in East Texas, more flags with “stars and bars” than “stars and stripes.” Then I thought of the murder of Sandra Bland. I remembered the teenage girl in a swimsuit who was slammed to the ground by a cop. I am no longer surprised.

After the murder of Dallas police officers at a protest, one of the teachers I worked with in Guadeloupe sent me an email. She asked if I was alright, if my family was safe. It was a privilege to reply that me and mine were alright.

It is important that countries like the Bahamas consider how their citizens may be treated in other countries, even if offends some people’s American pride. For any of us walking down the street, living our Black lives, it won’t matter if we are from the Caribbean or Africa, African-American or multiracial, or any other combination under the sun. When it comes to law and order on this large swath of land, we are all Negros.