Our Mission

“You gotta be a dope boy or NBA player to have money.” We were a group of Black teenagers in a suburb outside of Baltimore trespassing at a high-school football field on a Saturday. “Or you could be a senator,” I retorted. Everyone laughed. At 16, I didn’t know what was so funny. Now, over 15 years later, I understand.

 

In 2019, formerly incarcerated activist and abolitionist Emile DeWeaver ran a workshop called “The Imagination Problem” on the racialized process of mass incarceration. Emile explained how the project of colonialism relied on socially engineering thought norms to reproduce white supremist structures that have formed the basis of our contemporary world, from our institutions to our individual thought patterns. A neuroscientist at the workshop described how, when we imagine the future, we rely on the centers in the brain related to memory. Since we base our imagination on our experiences, what can we do if everything we have experienced in contemporary society is white supremist? Can we imagine the unimaginable? According to Emile, we can. But, he argues, “our ambitions must be bigger than our imaginations.”

 

As Black Americans, many of us are limited in what we imagine is possible for ourselves and our community. Centuries of confronting the ever-present, ever-changing forms of white supremacy has left us caught in a seemingly perpetual cycle of systemic harm and resulting internalized racism, trauma, and interpersonal harm with little to no reprieve to dream of a better future. This is especially true for those most negatively impacted by our country’s criminal legal system, which was intentionally designed to preclude African Americans from accessing the resources, services, and privileges necessary to thrive in the US. 

 

But what if we were able to expand our ambitions and therefore our imagination? What if we could then use that expanded imagination to realize new paths and opportunities? One way to begin to do this is by venturing outside of our white-supremacist society to enjoy transformative experiences that could change the way we think about ourselves, our communities, and our futures.

 

One challenge, however, is that many Black Americans, especially those from low-income, highly-policed Black communities, do not have the resources or privilege of free time to travel. And yet, several studies have documented the benefits of traveling, from reducing anxiety and stress, to gaining exposure to new ideas, boosting creativity, building communication skills and confidence, and deepening understanding of self.

 

Such positive impacts are magnified for Black Americans traveling to African countries, following in the footsteps of trailblazers like Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, and Kwame Ture who led the way in reconnecting with African roots our ancestors were so violently disconnected from. These experiences allow us to celebrate our history and culture while also developing a racial and ethnic identity. Many Black travelers have described journeys to Africa as “life-changing” with one woman explaining, "Travel to Africa is among the most healing of all. You go there and get part of your soul back.”

 

James Baldwin said, “If you know [from] whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” In that spirit, attorney and activist Sia Henry founded the Hood Exchange (HE), inspired by a growing number of groups launching travel initiatives to encourage and support members of the African diaspora to reconnect with the continent and each other. Sia, however, recognized existing programs are failing to meet a critical subset of our community: under-resourced Black neighborhoods. To that end, the HE engages system-impacted Black communities, which are least likely to participate in international travel, and provides coaching and wellness support along the way. Our goal is that through these experiences our brothers and sisters will:

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1. Learn about their ancestors’ histories of triumph, brilliance, and solidarity

2. Experience intercontinental Black solidarity while building a supportive community with other Black folks from the US

3. Develop plans and get connected to relevant community-based supports in their neighborhoods for professional and personal development