From the Editor

Dear Readers,

Isend you a warm hello on behalf of Vinegar Hill Magazine (VHM). My name is Katrina Spencer and since December 2022, I have been guiding much of the content that appears on the web for our magazine and in print. I am a Los Angeles native and have lived in Charlottesville for almost three years. My education, work, relationships, and curiosity have taken me to a variety of corners of the globe and we here at VHM are trying something new in offering up our first travel issue.

Katrina Spencer Editor & Content Manager

Certain segments of the Black American population are no strangers to international travel. History, particularly in times of war, has sent Black military and medical personnel overseas to France, Germany, Italy, and Japan since at least World War I. In the mid-20th century, members of the Black literati like James Baldwin and entertainers like Josephine Baker became voluntary and beloved expatriates in France. Others, too, like Eartha Kitt and Tina Turner went to reside in Europe as a refuge from racism, blacklisting, and the hypervisibility of fame. And today, our uber famous music artists like Beyoncé stage worldwide tours on every settled continent.

While many of these experiences have represented atypical or exceptional experiences, as we move towards greater success and more discretionary income, we are setting our sights on locales far and wide more often. The surge of Black travel is well within its moment. No matter the motivation, in this issue, we are documenting some of the corners of the globe that have enamored us and sharing some of the tips you can adopt to prepare for your next adventure.

Explore the world with us on trips to Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Malaysia, Peru, Senegal, and more! In all your flipping and scrolling, remember, too, to investigate Charlottesville’s Sister Cities Travel Scholarship Program that could take you to Bulgaria, France, Ghana, Guatemala, or Italy! And as a bonus, scan this QR code to enjoy a thematic, musical, multi-genre playlist we have prepared to get you in the travel mood.

By Darnell Lamont Walker

t was on the rooftop of a hostel in 2015, in the middle of Lima, Peru’s Miraflores neighborhood where I realized what I was doing in the world and the beauty behind it all. Three months prior, in Bogotá, Colombia, I sat at a dining room table in a beautiful hostel in Zona G with men and women I hadn’t known just a few hours earlier. We were talking about the day we spent together admiring the views from Monserrate, getting stuck in the middle of the jungle full of perros peligrosos (dangerous dogs) with an Uber driver who took a wrong turn, and searching for hot chocolate with a sweet cheese melted into it to warm us up a bit in the evening. We shared stories. Laurie was in her last days as a traveler through South America before returning home to Berlin to start teaching elementary school. Jasmin and Canadian Mike met years ago at a concert somewhere thousands of miles from both their home countries and decided a life of traveling, hopping on boats and tiny engine planes with priests, open-minded and available friends, and sex workers was better than a life of sitting still. And there I was, sitting and smiling, knowing I’d found my tribe – the people with rich lives tinged with loneliness and longing because we know moments like that one are rare. I’d be leaving the next day, and like any time I have to return to the U.S., I was sad. Stewart, another American, was with us all day and loved the energy just as much as I did. His flight was a couple of hours after mine and we agreed to ride to the airport together.