Ten Travel Books and Ten Travel Movies for Black History Month
It’s always a challenge to put one of these lists together–Which books and movies are actually good? Does this cover a wide range of genres? Do these books represent what I want them to?
I had to ask all of those questions with this list and then some, especially since I am a white woman–Is this list truly representational? Do these books and movies accurately represent the Black experience? Should I focus on books and movies about traveling or places?
But I knew this was a list I really wanted to put together–I wanted to show that there are Black authors and Black main characters who travel, see the world, and it’s important to acknowledge that their experiences are often very different than those of white travelers.
So here’s a collection of travel books and movies to honor Black History Month.
Some are true, some are fiction, some focus on the Black experience, and some just happen to have a Black main character. Some are about the experience of traveling and some focus more on a specific place.
All books have Black authors and all movies have Black main characters–because representation matters. And we should all be seeking out diverse authors and movies year-round–not just during this month.
Ten Travel Books for Black History Month:
All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
Author: Maya Angelou
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir
Places Featured: Accra, Ghana
Maya Angelou needs no introduction, but I honestly didn’t know until this book came in a subscription box (thanks, Bibliophilic Excursions!) that the author lived for several years in Accra, Ghana. As part of her autobiography series (the famous I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was the first one in the series), this book is about Angelou’s life between 1962 and 1965 when her son was in a horrible accident, she finds a job at the University of Ghana, and she explores her ties to Africa…and it’s written in only the way Maya Angelou can.
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Self-Discovery/Change
Places Featured: Nigeria, England, United Kingdom
Americanah took the world by storm when it came out in 2014–it won several awards, was a bestseller, and Beyonce even quoted Adichie in one of her songs. Americanah is the story of Ifemelu, a young woman from Nigeria who, although in love with Obinze, immigrates to the United States to go to school. They lead two very different lives–one in London and Nigeria and one in the United States–but they eventually come back to each other. It’s very well-written and thought-provoking and provides insights into all three places.
A Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing
Author: Several (Editors: Farah J. Griffin and Cheryl J. Fish)
Genre: Short Stories
Places Featured: Several
I was really excited to find this anthology because I had no idea it existed (a reminder for me to be more proactive in searching for diverse voices) and, although I wish there were a more updated version (it was published in 1998), you can’t deny that a book like this is needed. It’s a collection of over forty essays, excerpts, and letters from African Americans (some you’ve heard of like Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King, Jr.) and their travels all over the world including the Caribbean, Paris, India, Africa and more.
Author: Shay Youngblood
Genre: Fiction, Biography/Memoir
Places Featured: Paris, France
You may already know, but many African American artists (Josephine Baker and James Bladwin–to name a few) found a home in Paris in the early twentieth century when racism in the US was thriving. This novel explores that story, but in the mid-1980s when a young African-American woman decides to follow in the footsteps of those famous artists and finds a thriving community of expats, artists, and friends in Paris.
Author: Trevor Noah
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir
Places Featured: South Africa
Many people are familiar with Trevor Noah, his comedy, and political “reporting” on The Daily Show, but not everyone is familiar with his background. In this memoir, he recounts his childhood in South Africa during Apartheid–especially difficult for a child born to a white father and black mother (hence the title). It’s funny and honest and eye-opening and a fascinating first-hand account of life in South Africa. (I especially recommend the audiobook version as Noah reads it himself, so you know the impressions of his grandmother and African language are right on.)
Author: Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
Genre: Fiction, Children’s/Young Adult, Mystery/Crime
Places Featured: Miami, Florida and Haiti
A young adult book that’s great for adults–Dear Haiti, Love Alaine is the story of young Alaine “forced” to spend four months in Haiti where she will learn about the country of her parents and her family. Told in a series of letters, emails, and journal entries it’s a surprisingly quick read and one where Haiti is a character in itself.
**Note from Jen: I’ll be honest that I had a little bit of a hard time with this one (just too all over the place and too extreme–I might just be too old), but I did learn a lot about Haiti.
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
Author: Tembi Locke
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir, Food & Wine, Romance
Places Featured: Sicily, Italy
From Scratch is a love story. It’s the story about the love between a Black American woman (who is also a professional chef so you can imagine that food plays a big role) and her Sicilian husband. It’s the story about the love the two of them feel for their adopted daughter. And it’s the story about the deep painful lost love when the husband dies. But, then it’s also about the love Tembi and her daughter find when they return to Sicily, to his family, and his origins–they find a different kind of love that is just as beautiful and deep. I’m so grateful she shared her love story. (Also featured in my list of Books about Italy and Romance Travel Books.)
Author: Nicole Dennis-Benn
Genre: Fiction
Places Featured: Jamaica
For many, Jamaica is a land of dreamy resorts, beaches and reggae music. Few take the time to understand the people and the people who make those resorts so dreamy–Here Comes the Sun will show you that side. It’s the story of Margot, working at a resort to put her younger sister through school, who struggles with colorism, sexism, and classism in a part of the world that is supposed to be paradise. This isn’t a fun beach read, but a heart-wrenching authentic book.
Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain
Author: Lori L. Tharps
Genre: Non-fiction, Biography/Memoir, Romance
Places Featured: Morocco, Spain
Lori Tharps was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and although she had a middle-class upbringing, she is African-American and that is part of her life. So when she studies abroad in Spain and spends time in Morocco, she learns more about her African roots and how they tie to those two places. It’s a memoir and a travelogue and a love story and a little bit of a history lesson in one well-written book.
Native Stranger: A Black American’s Journey Into the Heart of Africa
Author: Eddy L. Harris
Genre: Non-Fiction, BIography/Memoir
Places Featured: Africa
Eddy L. Harris is a BlackAmerican writer who spent a while backpacking around Africa–this book about that journey is gritty and raw, but also a fascinating look at life in Africa told from a very different perspective from what you would see from a travelogue written by a white person. He wasn’t necessarily “looking for his roots”, but he was looking to just observe and learn.
Bonus Children’s Travel Books for Black History Month:
- Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans by Kadir Nelson
- Payton Goes to London (Series) by Shayla and Payton McGhee
- Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
- The Amazing Adventures of Aya and Pete in Paris by Asha Gore and Serena Minott
Honorable Mention Travel Books for Black History Month:
Ten Travel Movies for Black History Month
Rating: N/A
Genre: Drama
Places Featured: Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, United States
Although Daughters of the Dust is in the history books as the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States, it is not a mainstream movie–it is almost a poem in film form. It’s the story of three generations of women on Saint Helena Island in South Carolina and their migration North.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Places Featured: Montego Bay, Jamaica
Based on a novel by the same name by the well-known author Terry McMillan, How Stella Got Her Groove Back is the story of a successful 40ish single mother, Stella, (played by the gorgeous Angela Bassett) who travels to Jamaica for a well-deserved vacation at the encouragement of her best friend (Whoopi Goldberg) and, while there, she meets an attractive and intriguing–but much younger–local (Taye Diggs in his first big film appearance!) who forces Stella to re-examine her lie and her goals. It can be heartwarming for, ah hem, women of a certain age. (But don’t look up what really happened to Terry McMillan and her Jamaican lover…you’ll be disappointed.)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Places Featured: Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Full disclosure: this is one of my favorite movies and a definite go-to when I need a little pick-me-up. Queen Latifah (always one of my faves) is retail worker with a hidden passion for food, but not much passion for her life when she’s told she has a medical condition and not much time to leave. So, she cashes in her savings and travels to a dream hotel where one of her favorite chefs is cooking. Everyone wonders who this “rich” mysterious lady is and she has some fun adventures as she figures out what she really wants in life.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, History
Places Featured: United States
There are several (very) good movies about the history and struggles of Blacks in the United States and the Civil Rights Movement, but I wanted to include this one on this list…not only is it a beautiful film, but it does a magnificent job of telling a difficult story with real characters shot in real places and it really does make history come alive.
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Places Featured: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
The first draw to this movie is its stellar cast–Queen Latifah (you’ll see below she’s always a fave of mine), Tiffany Haddish, Regina Hall, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The second draw is that it’s the story of a group of old friends traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana to reconnect and attend the Essence Music Festival. It’s just a fun movie about friendship
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Places Featured: United States
I watched this movie on an airplane and had one of those embarrassing moments where I realized I was crying at something and no one around me knew why. It’s a good movie. Made even better when you learn it’s based on a true story. Don Shirley (played by Marhershala Ali) was an African American jazz pianist famous in the 1960s who hired Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) to be his bodyguard for a tour through the Midwest and Southern United States. Although it did receive some criticism, it did eventually win both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Picture. (It’s a powerful one and it’s included on our list of Road Trip Movies, too.)
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Crime/Mystery, Action/Adventure, Romance
Places Featured: United States
Queen and Slim is a road trip movie…but not the fun and care-free kind. Queen and Slim meet on a first date in Ohio that ends with the accidental shooting of a white police officer…so the two go on the run. Their journey takes them to Kentucky, New Orleans, and Florida and along the way they learn about themselves and each other.
Rating: N/A
Genre: Nonfiction, Documentary, Short Story
Places Featured: United States
I debated on including this one because it isn’t a traditional movie–it’s a 20-minute virtual reality documentary–but it’s story is too important not to include. It examines The Negro Motorist Green Book (a book created betwen 1936 and 1966 to help African-Americans know where it was safe to travel in the United States)…something we should all understand.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Places Featured: San Francisco, California, United States
The Last Black Man in San Francisco takes a look at gentrification and how the way neighborhoods are changing are changing the lives of Black Americans. It’s the story of Jimmie Falls and watching the city and the home he grew up in change. It’s a slow, but powerful film.
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America (2021)
Rating: N/A
Genre: Nonfiction, Documentary, Food and Wine, History
Places Featured: Several
This one is a 4-episode series on Netflix and not actually a movie, but it’s definitely a show worth watching. It’s a food show, a travel show, and a history show all in one as writer Stephen Satterfield travels to Africa and throughout the United States to trace African-Amerian cuisine and its influence. (It’s also based on a book–also called High on the Hog–by Jessica B. Harris.)
