The cousins were setting sail for the trip of a lifetime.

They expected scenic train rides, gondola rides, and eating their way through new cuisines,

but something eerily familiar from home followed them on the journey.

This is Two Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school.

Roberta Thomas and Florence Sinstack get to leave pack their bags, ready to embark on their

biggest adventure ever. They just graduated from the illustrious Pisk University and their Uncle Robert,

the publisher of the Chicago Defender, gifted them the experience of a lifetime.

In 1931, the duo traversed Europe for nearly a year, experiencing it all from seeing Josephine Baker

perform in Paris, to a winding train ride through the Italian countryside,

to listening to live music in London's Hyde Park. Readers back home escaped to places they'd

never been through the cousin's word, who wrote about their travels in the Chicago Defender,

and realized that traveling was something attainable for them as well.

The experience wasn't all peaches and cream though because anti-blackness exists in every corner

of the world. We don't allow them to do that in Texas, a white boy said to the cousins once

while relaxing, living their best lives by the waterfront in Venice, Italy. Today, both the media

and travel industries are anti-black. For years, black travel communities have continued helping

our people see new places, and many of our people are also writing travel narratives from around

the world. We have always been storytellers, and Thomas and Sinstack are no different. Despite

anti-black narratives, many of us have been seeing the world and sharing incredible stories

full of nuanced, unique perspectives. It's a beautiful thing, and we should never stop exploring.

In order to move towards the future, you've got to look to the past.

This has been Two Minute Black History, a podcast by Push Black. If you enjoyed this episode

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