Travel and lifestyle content creator Malikah Kelly shocked many online users when she shared the most racist country she’s been to as a Black traveler.
The influencer shared the post in July 2024 with her over 49,000 followers on TikTok. Since then, the upload has garnered over 1.3 million views and thousands of comments. At the beginning of the clip, Malikah noted that she’s often asked where she’s experienced the most racism. She said, “So today, I’m going to tell you about the worst place I’ve ever traveled, where I was treated the most poorly, had the worst time, and will never be going back.”
Ultimately, she revealed at the video’s end that she was treated “like dirt” by “other Black people” in St. Kitts. The island is a part of the Caribbean country St. Kitts and Nevis.
“It really was like a terrible sad time because I had never been treated like that,” Malikah said. “I never had that kind of experience on vacation.”
Why Did Malikah Have Such A Negative Experience As A Black Traveler In St. Kitts?
Her examples were allegedly getting less hospitable treatment during her hotel check-in and stay, including with the pool staff and housekeeping. She also said people weren’t giving her “the time of day” when she explored the local market. Regarding the latter, she said she tried initiating greetings to shop owners but still got no acknowledgment of her presence. She described the shopkeepers’ attitudes as “very standoffish and stank.”
“The time that I spent hanging out at the pools or on the beach was just awful. I could barely get a drink to save my life. I [couldn’t] get a server to come take care of me literally to save my life,” she recalled of being poolside. “Like, I would see them walk past my chair to every other white person. And then when [I tried] to make eye contact and wave them down and get attention, when [I was] ready to order, they’re still looking everywhere but at me. Or like, looking at me then looking away.”
Malikah said that, at one point, white guests of the hotel even noticed her being overlooked by the poolside staff. The TikToker claimed to have bonded with another Black female solo traveler over similar experiences.
In the caption of her post, the travel influencer emphasized that St. Kitts is somewhere she would “never go back to!”
Why Were Online Users Shocked By TikTok Video?
Regarding her ability to gauge racism in different places, Malikah noted that she’s lived in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
In the comments of her post, many TikTok users were surprised to hear that St. Kitts is where Malikah had the worst experience as a Black traveler. Some — including other Black travelers — recalled having a great time during their visits to the Caribbean destination. Meanwhile, others said they’d experienced similar instances as the TikToker throughout the Caribbean.
Malikah noted that despite her experience, she wouldn’t discourage anyone from traveling somewhere and forming their own opinions.
Notably, the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook page (last updated in February 2025) reports that St. Kitts and Nevis’ population is 92.5% of African descent.
In response to Malikah’s video on St. Kitts, one person commented, “Wow, that is shocking to me as I got married in St. Kitts and go often and never had that experience. I am an Afro-Cuban.”
“St Kitts? I’m from the Caribbean, and that makes me sad,” another person wrote.
