Watch: Black Florida business owners aren’t in favor of NAACP travel ban

TheGrio’s Eboni K. Williams talks to Kristin Kitchen, Black owner of Dunns Josephine Hotel in Miami, about the NAACP travel advisory.

Two months ago, the Florida chapter of the NAACP issued a travel advisory for Black Americans to not travel to the state of Florida. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has been issuing policies that are extremely anti-Black, which have made it feel unsafe for Black Americans in the state.

In the past couple of years, his administration has blocked the Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught in high schools, signed the “Stop Woke Act,” a law which prohibits “workplace training or school instruction that teaches individuals are inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive…” and has banned “critical race theory” from public school classrooms.

Although the advisory is a way to stand up for Black rights, how do Black businesses located in the state feel about this announcement? TheGrio’s Eboni K. Williams talks to Kristin Kitchen, owner of Dunns Josephine Hotel in Miami about how the NAACP got it wrong.

The following is a transcript of the conversation.

How could have the travel advisory been better executed to consider the needs of Black business owners in Florida?

Williams: The summer season is now in full swing and I know a whole lot of y’all plan to hit the beach. The question is, are you going to the state of Florida? The NAACP wants to see you go somewhere else. It’s been about a month since the organization issued a travel advisory for the state in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempt to erase Black history and restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.

Williams: So how do some Black business owners in Florida feel about the travel advisory, especially if there is a big drop in tourism? Joining me now is Kristin Kitchen. She owns Dunns Josephine Hotel in Miami. Kristin, thank you so much for being with us.

Now, you say, of course, you understand the need for something to be done in response to the governor’s actions, but you do fear that this particular travel advisory could have been executed differently in a way that better considered the needs of Black business owners. Kristin, what would you prefer to see?

Kitchen: Absolutely. I believe that, like you said, we’re in agreement that, you know, an awareness about what’s going on in Florida with the governor needs to be brought to light. But having the small Black businesses in Florida become the scapegoat, or the guinea pig for this travel advisory is just not the right idea. We’re just coming back off of COVID.

Miami’s bread and butter is tourism. So, now that we’ve all pushed past that and we’re one-year post-COVID and it’s just absolutely not the right thing to do to tell people not to come to Florida. And we feel like there could have been an advisory with direction, say, come to Florida and when you come purposely support Black businesses.

And what I really think is that the NAACP got it wrong because they could have really done something amazing and created a hashtag, came up with an idea that would have allowed people to become a collective about it, maybe take pictures and photos with different Black entrepreneurs at the businesses that they’re supporting and come up with some way that this can be a campaign that says Black history does matter, Black business does matter in Miami. So we just wish that they had come up with a little bit better of a plan than telling everybody just not to go.

Williams: Yeah. I think one thing that is glaring to me in this, kind of…I don’t want to say miscommunication, but I agree with you actually that it’s potentially a missed opportunity for something that was more collaborative. So what’s glaringly obvious to me, Kristin, is that there needs to be better communication between the NAACP chapter leadership there in the state of Florida and also the needs of the Black business owners.

How has this announcement from the NAACP affected Black businesses so far?

Williams: So I think going forward, that’s something for both sides of this conversation to consider. Now, one of my producers of this very show had planned a very big family trip to the state of Florida to celebrate her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. But she actually canceled the trip because of this advisory and she moved it somewhere else. Are you hearing other stories that are similar to that from other Black tourists?

Kitchen: So far we have not heard anything, but how would we know? People aren’t calling us and canceling. The summer is our slowest season, so this is when we really do need people to come to Florida, particularly we need Black folks to come to Florida when it’s beautiful and it’s hot. You know, it’s only been a month.

We’re just coming out of the busy season, so I think June, July, and August will really tell the story of what’s going to happen. We really put in a lot of marketing and advertising in preparation for the slower season this year coming from last year out of COVID. And it’s just really kind of disheartening that all of this effort would be in vain if we’re putting out a national announcement telling people not to come.

Williams: Yeah. Now, you’re right. We’re going to have to wait and see as the summer plays out exactly what the impact of the advisory will look like.

What could a beneficial alternative look like for both the NAACP and Black businesses in Florida?

Williams: We do know that Governor Ron DeSantis laughed off the whole concept. He called it a joke. Do you think that this will have the impact that the NAACP desires in terms of awakening consciousness to the governor’s actions?

Kitchen: I think the NAACP has a really great opportunity to give direction. So, you know, the travel advisory came out, it’s not exactly a travel ban. It’s just an advisory of what’s going on in Florida. Heightening that awareness is definitely something that needed to be done. I think they have a wonderful opportunity right now. Collaboration doesn’t have to end.

The summer is just starting. I think this is a great opportunity for us to all sit down at the table and come up with a really great way to make sure that the small businesses and the Black-owned businesses in Miami and in Florida all over don’t suffer because of this. I mean, I think that what is the goal? What is the goal? And I think that there is a far better marketing, advertising, promotional effort that could be made, that could really give it the awareness that it needs because the goal is to bring attention to what’s happening with erasing our history, books being banned.

Everything that’s going on in Florida needs to be brought to light. But I think that there is a way to do it with a direction. So if you’re coming or when you come come with purpose, come with purpose. Our hotel is a historic hotel that celebrates African American history. The entire hotel is themed from the Harlem Renaissance.

So when you come there, you sleep in the Josephine Baker room or the Dorothy Dandridge room. So we’re teaching that same history that they’re trying to erase. So I really feel like, there’s a lot more that can be done collectively at this moment to get it right for small businesses.

Williams: Kristin Kitchen, owner of Dunns Josephine Hotel in Miami, Florida, thank you for joining.

Check out the full clip above and tune into “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” at 6 p.m. ET every weeknight on theGrio cable channel.

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