Nomadness Travel Tribe is a "Green Book" for digital age

Evita Turquoise Robinson has created a Green Book for the digital age called Nomadness Travel Tribe -- a 22,000-strong community of black travelers who share travel resources and experiences from around the globe in order to increase diversity in the travel industry.

"My focus from the beginning to end is always community. It started with a need for people -- a need to be accepted," she told CBSN. "Travel is the connective tissue that brings my community of 22,000 together as one."

Robinson, the creator and CEO of Nomadness, said her own travel stories formed the genesis of her company, which she says has helped fuel the black travel movement on social media. 

"Nomadness was started eight years ago. We were really at the forefront of this entire movement and we are making a real dent in the travel industry," she said, noting that the African-American community spends about $60 billion annually on travel. 

Nomadness can also be thought of as "the ultimate resource" for people of color who want to feel safe abroad. It can be used "if you are going to Tulum, Mexico, and you want to know where to eat, where to stay, where as a person and traveler of color are you most comfortable and accepted," she said. 

"We are a travel family"   

Another great feat for Nomadness has been dismantling stereotypes about black travelers. "When I started this eight years ago, the whole stigma was that black people only traveled to the Caribbean, or Miami, or Vegas," Robinson said. This hadn't been her experience, and she suspected the same was true for others. "I just needed to find them and create a home for them," she said. 

Nomadness hosts regular group meetups in addition to trips. Perhaps most importantly, it can save lives, according to Robinson. 

"By far the biggest complement that I've gotten about Nomadness Travel Tribe is that we are a New Age 'Negro Motorist Green Book,'" she said, referring to Victor H. Green's annual guidebook for African-American roadtrippers in an era when they faced threats of physical violence and expulsion from all-white towns after sundown. 

"For my group to anoint us as the digital, international version of the 'Negro Motorist Green Book,' they are telling me that I have created a safe space, and that means everything to me."

Put more simply, "We are a travel family, we look out for one another in a myriad of ways," Robinson said. 

Anisah Jabar produced the CBSN Small Business Spotlight video that accompanies this article.