Mayor Brandon Scott Wants Your Next Girls' Trip To Be Baltimore
Mayor Brandon Scott Wants Your Next Girls' Trip To Be Baltimore
- Baltimore aims to be a haven for Black women's travel and leisure.
- The city celebrates Black culture through festivals, events, and Black-owned businesses.
- The mayor emphasizes the importance of supporting and uplifting Black women.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott wants to see Black women enjoying crab cakes, slurping oysters, and two-stepping in Charm City. The young political dynamo wants Black women to consider Baltimore for girls’ trips, festival weekends, and quick getaways.
“Black women carry the world. You need to rest,” he told HelloBeautiful at the CIAA championship game. “What better place to rest and get some good crab cakes, enjoy some stuff, and be amongst your people than in Baltimore?”
Inviting Black Women
The power of domestic Black travel is well documented. A 2023 research report released by MMGY Travel Intelligence revealed that Black domestic travelers spend $145 billion annually, a huge increase from the $109 billion reported in their 2019 study. Black women contribute a huge part of that economic value. Walk through any airport in America, and you are likely to see a group of Black girls rocking Telfar bags and Glamaholic fanny packs on their way to enjoy a five-star hotel or luxury Airbnb. Their pool-friendly knotless braids swing towards luxury travel several times a year.
Sometimes they are taking getaways to places that don’t appreciate their lively laughter and breathtaking beauty, like the Napa Valley.
Related: Black Girls Travel: 5 Things To Do In Grand Cayman
Scott wants them to consider Baltimore, a place where their presence and funds are appreciated. “We want Black women in Baltimore, because they know they all will be loved and supported here,” he said.
Supporting Black Traditions
CIAA is known for more than the backdrop to Greg and K’s blurry love story. It is a Black family reunion that has relocated to Baltimore.
Black women showed up in groups to the CIAA championship game. They donned their Greek paraphernalia, repping their letters on baseball caps, windbreakers, and bags. HBCU grads bopped to K-Camp with their friends in suites and the stands.
It brings millions into the city, but there are other tentpole events where Black culture is celebrated.
Scott suggested other times for squads to pop out in the very Black city. “If they’re looking for particular weekends to do that in the year, book your hotel, your trip for Juneteenth weekend,” he said. “Come party!”
He encourages Black women to attend the city’s AFRAM festival taking place from June 19-21, which is open to the public without overpriced tickets, removing a barrier to enjoy the experience. He gushed about the mixed line-up that speaks to all generations, from the OG hip-hop heads to the TikTok generation.
“The Lox, Uncle Charlie Wilson, Tamia, and others, for ‘Free99.’ All you gotta do is get yourself to the park,” says Scott. He let the aunties know the festival was for them last year.
Chloe Bailey, PJ Morton, Mario, and Lil’ Mo will be performing at this year’s festival as well.
Supporting Black Women
Baltimore is full of thriving Black businesses. Black women committed to providing fun and food for their community own many of them.
Stem & Vine offers craft cocktails, pilates classes, and plant care education from Kendrea Clark Goldsmith and her husband, Quincy Goldsmith. Urban Oyster is a jewel that combines elegant decor with the dazzling culinary talent of Jasmine Norton. Yeiboh Kitchen is so beloved that there are lines out of the door for a chance to wash down their fried lobster with one of their brown sugar margaritas.
Jamyla Bennu’s Oyin Handmade partnered with Hotel Revival to ensure that Baltimore tourists with natural hair and dry skin have inclusive personal care options.
Scott smiles at the mention of the Black women entrepreneurs that are adding to the coastal metropolis. “They are the majority, they are the ones that have been carrying,” he says. He reinforced the need to support Black women in business in a climate that is rapidly destabilizing their financial well-being.
“We have to support them, especially in a time right now, when you got people who sent 400,000 of them into not having a job, simply because they’re afraid of the power that Black women were gathering,” Scott continues. “We have to double down on lifting them up, especially Black men. I say this all the time now. It is our responsibility to stand up and speak up for you all like y’all have done for us for all these many years.”
Supporting Black Talent
The city makes room for Black women’s creativity as well. Lena Waithe debuted her play Trinity in the city in February. Black women traveled from Chicago, Atlanta, and other cities to fill the theater at Baltimore Center stage in tulle skirts, metallic sneakers, and red-bottomed stilettos to support The Chi creator.
“When you talk about Baltimore, you talk about its history, you talk about who moves this city. You’re talking about Black women,” adds Scott.
Related: Black Girls Travel: 7 Wellness Destinations That Give White Lotus Energy
Appreciating Black Women
Scott is intimately familiar with the power of Black women. He owes his career to them. He credits his “My wife, my mom, my grandparents, my teachers, and my coaches that I’ve had” with his success.
“The person that gave me my job in City Hall was a Black woman, Mayor Rollins Blake. I would not be here without her,” she says. “All of the Black women in my life have helped me to be the man that I did.”
Mayor Brandon Scott Wants Your Next Girls' Trip To Be Baltimore was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
