A six week trip to Paris after graduating from Iona College ignited a new passion for Evita Turquoise Robinson.
That passion was to help people and by using her background in television, video, production, and fine art, she created the online community NOMADNESS Travel Tribe for travelers of color in September of 2011.
Now in its eighth year, the group has more than 20,000 members who have accumulated over 100,000 passport stamps. In addition, the group hosts approximately 100 meets ups a year in destinations all over the world.
NOMADNESS Travel Tribe has been coined a “Digital Green Book” as it creates a safe space where black travelers share travel resources and experiences from around the globe. The goal, according to Robinson, is to increase diversity in the travel industry.
“My focus from the beginning to end is always community. It started with a need for people. A need to be accepted,” she told CBSN in a recent interview. “Travel is the connective tissue that brings my community of 22,000 together as one.”
Robinson continued that her experiences with traveling are what ultimately inspired her company.
“By far the biggest compliment that I’ve gotten about Nomadness Travel Tribe is that we are a New Age ‘Negro Motorist Green Book,'” she stated, referring to Victor H. Green’s annual guidebook for African-American travelers. “For my group to anoint us as the digital, international version of the ‘Negro Motorist Green Book,’ they are telling me that I have created a safe space, and that means everything to me.”
Beyond the digital resources, Robinson and her NOMADNESS Travel Tribe hosted their first festival for its demographic in Oakland known as Audacity Fest.
The fest is an immersive experience that celebrates and creates a safe space for discussions centered around traveling the world as a person of color. The fest includes panels, break off sessions, entertainment and more for travelers of color.
The second annual Audacity Fest will be held in Memphis, Tennessee from Sept. 28 through Sept. 29, 2019.