Frosted Flakes: Traveling While Black, Revised Schedules and HCBUs

Since it’s Black History Month, I think it’s important to address black travelers because they are growing in numbers every year and play a key role every year in the travel and tourism industry. I’ve met quite a few black travelers throughout my extensive travels including one with whom I have formed a good friendship.

His name is Roobens Fils who writes on his travel blog Been Around the Globe. I first met him at a travel blogger conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands in May 2018 when we discovered we were both staying in the same hostel (but in different dorm rooms). We met later that summer at another conference in Ostrava, Czech Republic and again in his home city of Paris before I flew back to the United States. He is a really cool guy who has actually traveled to a few places that are on my bucket list (the Balkans and Central Asia) so it’s interesting to get his perspective on traveling to these places.

Roobens has written extensively about his experiences of traveling while black including interesting stories from Eastern Europe and Japan and horrible stories from Morocco and Singapore. During the pandemic, Roobens also released a book called Traveling While Black, which talks about the experiences of himself and many other black travelers from around the world.

If you are interested in supporting more black travel bloggers, I would highly recommend checking out Eulanda and Omo from Hey Dip Your Toes In, Montoya and Phil from The Spring Break Family and Erick from Minority Nomad.

Anyways…onto Flakes.

Nebraska WBB Gets Season Sweep vs Ranked Northwestern 71-64 | Basketball | Corn Nation

That was about the only good thing for Nebraska in that quarter as they committed 11 turnovers. Yes, you read that right. I’m not sure, but I believe 11 turnovers in a single quarter is, in statistical parlance, a “shit ton”.

Big Ten Released Nebraska Baseball Schedule | Baseball | Corn Nation

As previously stated, it will be a conference-only schedule. All 44 games will count as conference games. There will be no 2021 Big Ten tournament, which was supposed to be in Omaha in May. The schedule is 13 weeks, with 5 four-game weekends and 8 three-game weekends. Each team will play every other conference team at least three times.

Nebraska Football 2021 Season Opener Moved from Dublin to Illinois | Volleyball | Corn Nation

The Covid-19 pandemic claimed another casualty of fun when it was announced today that Nebraska football’s 2021 season opener against Illinois will be played in Champaign instead of in Dublin, Ireland as originally planned.

Nebraska Recruiting: Could Tight End Usage and 2021 Recruiting Impact 2022 Cycle? | Football | Hail Varsity

Naturally, some will be turned off by the No. 1 tight end from the 2021 class being so young in the program. For most kids Nebraska is recruiting, that won’t be a huge issue. There are plenty of options out there. Locally, Kaden Helms and Micah Riley are two of the best tight ends in the region.

Mailbag: Top Wide Receivers Going Into Spring, Positives Instead of Negative and More | Sports | Hail Varsity

Hail Varsity staff members Mike Babcock, Jacob Padilla, Greg Smith, Erin Sorensen and Brandon Vogel tackle your questions about the latest news in Husker Nation.

Chatelain: The Big Ten Exposes Its Own Double Standards Once Again | Sports | Omaha World-Herald

The league has chosen to hold a conference basketball tournament next month. That’s despite the fact the league’s best nine or 10 teams are NCAA tournament locks, meaning there’s about a 1% chance the tournament winner actually needs a title to qualify for the Big Dance. Two months later, the Big Ten has canceled its conference tournament in baseball, a mostly non-contact sport, outdoors, after vaccinations have likely made a huge dent in COVID-19. Why?

Ron Brown’s New Role Will Help Scott Frost Improve the Husker Offense | Sports | Omaha World-Herald

Ron Brown, an assistant on many of Nebraska’s best teams, has a new title within the Husker program: Senior offensive analyst. Brown — who coached wide receivers, tight ends and running backs during 24 years at NU — will serve as part of Scott Frost’s brain trust for retooling an offense that has lost a little of its punch.

Position Playback: Returning Production, Prove-It Player and More for the Husker D-Line | Football | Omaha World-Herald

All of the key pieces from last year’s defensive line will line up in the trenches for 2021. The unit is led by sixth-year senior Ben Stille — who, according to defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, had his best season in 2020 — junior Damion Daniels and third-year freshman Ty Robinson, a starting trio that combined for 64 tackles and nine tackles for loss in eight games.

Traveling While Black | Travel | Been Around the Globe

Traveling while black means going through different experiences than my fellow white or Asian travelers. The more I travel, the more I realize it. Traveling while black means developing reflexes without realizing it. Traveling while black means going through different experiences than the other travelers.

Black Travel: The Movement | Travel | Travel + Leisure

A powerful new Black travel movement has emerged over the past decade — one centered on giving travelers of color the advice, inspiration, and sense of community we need to explore the world.

Black-Owned Food Businesses to Watch in 2021 | Travel | Travel + Leisure

“Supporting local businesses has always been core to the mission of Yelp and we’re seeing our users increasingly search for Black-owned businesses to support. There are so many amazing Black-owned businesses to discover and we created this list of Ones to Watch as a guide to use throughout the year,” says Yelp’s trend expert, Tara Lewis.

10 Black Heritage Sites to Visit in 2021 | Travel | Travel Pulse

It’s easier than most folks know to visit destinations and sites, within the U.S. and beyond, that document the panorama of contributions made by influential Black statesmen, activists, abolitionists, soldiers, businesspeople, indigenous groups and artistic leaders to American and global history. In fact, there are Black historical sites in nearly every part of the U.S. and throughout the Caribbean.

Why the Travel Industry Needs More Black Travel Advisors | Travel | Travel Pulse

Black travel advisors need to be a focus for this opportunity because of the benefits they bring to the industry, our agencies, and our customers. My focus right now is to deliver the tough thoughts on diversity for the growth of our industry, post-pandemic, so that we are successful.

Why You Should Visit These 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the USA | Travel | Lonely Planet

Serving as a haven for young Black people with a dream, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were and remain an integral part of the Black experience. From the halls of these institutions of higher learning came some of the biggest and brightest figures in American history.

How a Charleston Guide Reckons With the City’s Past — And Celebrates Its Present | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

Within her own family, Toby Smith is only three generations removed from slavery; her great-great-grandmother Idella was taken from Ghana at the age of three and brought into the markets in Charleston. “I came out of that family and I am grateful. That’s one reason why being at McLeod is so meaningful to me,” she says.

Families Are Leading a New Wave in Black Travel. Here’s Why. | Travel | National Geographic

According to MMGY Global, 12 percent of Black travel parties are comprised of young families, which is greater than the incidence of young families among all U.S. resident travelers. The reasons why Black families travel, despite the risks, is as much about the past as it is about the future.

How Black History and Culture Have Influenced American Cuisine | Travel | NBC News

So much of what makes up American cuisine can be understood through our country’s complicated history. Chefs Jerome Grant and Ashleigh Shanti know this history keenly as culinary experts on the influence of Black cooks on American food.

From those who missed this earlier this week.