Beyond the Shores: A History of African Americans Abroad with Tamara J. Walker
Entrepreneurial Appetite
What drives Black Americans to seek opportunities beyond U.S. borders, and what do they discover about themselves when they leave? Dr. Tamara Walker's groundbreaking book "Beyond the Shores: A History of African Americans Abroad" takes us on a global journey spanning a century of Black travel experiences that shaped both individual lives and international perceptions of race and identity.
Growing up in Colorado with a grandfather who served in the military overseas, Dr. Walker was surrounded by mementos from around the world that sparked her curiosity about travel from an early age. Her own formative experiences studying abroad in Mexico, France, and Argentina - where she confronted complicated racial dynamics as locals struggled to place her Black identity in their European-centered worldview - ultimately led her to pursue Latin American history and explore the broader story of African Americans abroad.
Unlike previous accounts that focus primarily on famous expatriates in Paris, Walker's narrative spans continents and decades, introducing us to both celebrated and ordinary Black travelers whose stories illuminate larger historical patterns. We meet Florence Mills navigating 1920s London and Paris, Black workers finding unprecedented opportunities in Soviet factories during the 1930s, and Herman DeBose, recruited to the Peace Corps from North Carolina A&T during the height of the Cold War, when America desperately needed Black representatives abroad to counter Soviet criticism of U.S. racial inequality.
Particularly moving are the post-WWII stories of figures like Mabel Grammer, who found purpose helping "Brown Babies" - children of Black American soldiers and German women - find adoptive families in the United States. Through these interconnected narratives, Walker reveals how African Americans abroad navigated the complex reality that their American identity sometimes afforded them privileges denied to local Black populations, especially in colonial contexts.
As global nationalism and xenophobia rise today, Walker's work raises profound questions about whether leaving America represents an escape from racism or simply an encounter with different forms of discrimination. Yet these stories ultimately reveal how generations of African Americans have created meaningful lives and legacies across the globe, expanding our understanding of what it means to be both Black and American on the world stage.
Subscribe to Entrepreneurial Appetite and join our Patreon community to support our work bringing these vital conversations to life. Visit The Wandering Scholar nonprofit to learn how Dr. Walker is making international education accessible to low-income students, continuing the legacy of global connection she documents so beautifully.
