One of the Largest Black Travel Festivals Is Heading to New Jersey

This year, Nomadness Fest, the leading Black travel festival in the United States, will take place in Newark, New Jersey, from September 9 to 11. While the city may not be a major tourist destination, it was chosen for the festival because of its often-overlooked significance in Black history.

“Downtown Newark is a proud representation of Black culture,” states Evita Robinson, the founder of Nomadness Travel Tribe, which organizes Nomadness Fest. Robinson has called Newark home for the past six years.

With Black residents making up 50 percent of the population, they represent Newark’s largest racial demographic by a wide margin. During the Great Migration, when over 6 million Black individuals moved from the Jim Crow South to urban areas in the North and West during the 20th century, many were drawn to Newark's robust industrial economy. The city also played a pivotal role in the Underground Railroad; the Presbyterian Plane Street Colored Church, established in 1835, was a key location in this network and received formal recognition from the National Park Service in June 2022. However, recent challenges like the Great Recession and the pandemic have hit Black communities hard, leading Nomadness Fest to aim to uplift Newark.

Historically, the travel industry has marginalized Black travelers, underrepresenting them in marketing and within corporate leadership. Nonetheless, Black Americans have a strong desire to travel: In 2019, prior to the pandemic, leisure travelers from this demographic spent $109.4 billion, accounting for 13 percent of the U.S. leisure travel market, according to a study by MMGY Travel Intelligence. With a community of 31,000 travelers of color built over 11 years, Nomadness seeks to enhance representation and create a sense of belonging for Black travelers who may feel sidelined by the industry.

The festival—renamed as Nomadness Fest in 2022—was formerly known as Audacity Fest. It originally took place in Oakland in 2018 and was held again in Memphis in 2019. After shifting to a virtual format due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, the festival is returning in person to Newark in 2022. Attendees can look forward to sessions covering topics like remote work, relocating abroad, and effective brand pitching, along with a dedicated networking day and Nomadness’s annual barbecue.

In organizing festivals over the years, Robinson has intentionally selected cities like Oakland over Los Angeles, Memphis over Nashville, and Newark over New York. She considers whether certain deserving locations simply lack the opportunity to shine, possibly due to smaller convention centers, limited visitor bureaus, or tighter marketing budgets.

“We’ve developed a talent for curating festival experiences in cities that often get overshadowed by their larger neighbors,” she notes.

One of Newark's major attractions for Robinson is the city's commitment to enhancing its Black-focused arts scene, which reflects its rich history. In 2020, Newark initiated a Social Justice Public Art Initiative that commissioned several murals throughout the city, including one stating “Abolish White Supremacy” and a depiction of Sojourner Truth. That same year also saw the unveiling of a mosaic honoring Newark-born Whitney Houston and the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus from Washington Park (now Tubman Square), which will be replaced with a monument for Harriet Tubman. In addition, a statue of George Floyd was erected outside City Hall in 2021.

“They’re prominently displayed, not hidden away in obscure locations,” Robinson remarks.

For those attending Nomadness Fest who may not explore Newark’s art scene independently, the festival has incorporated a museum visit into its schedule. The Newark Museum of Art will host Nomadness Fest’s Industry Day on September 9. The museum has undergone recent renovations, including the return of the Arts of Global Africa Permanent Collection. Now led by its first Black director, Linda Harrison, the museum has been a staple for 113 years.

Nomadness Fest is also dedicated to highlighting the city’s contemporary Black culture. Robinson has crafted a “founder’s favorites” map for downtown Newark, guiding festival-goers to local gems, including an Afro-futurism art exhibit at the historic Hahne & Co. building, the luxury brand BrownMill, and the soul food restaurant Marcus B&P, created by James Beard Award winner Marcus Samuelsson.

While Newark remains an underappreciated destination, Robinson is cautious about the city attracting excessive attention. If Newark appears on annual high-profile travel lists, it could lead to overtourism, potentially harming the community by spurring gentrification and displacing long-time residents. Nonetheless, Robinson aims to share the city’s offerings with the world.

“The individuals who shape Newark's culture truly deserve recognition,” Robinson states. “Exciting developments are occurring here, just a stone's throw away from the heavily touristed New York City.”