Alonso spoke about his deep interest in this opportunity as he has travelled all over the world in his career and would like for minorities to explore different parts of the world as well to get the same experience. “When you travel, especially outside the United States, it just opens your eyes to a lot of things and your defenses eventually come down and you realize we’re all the same,†he said, recalling a 2005 trip to Moscow.
Black Atlas presented a video featuring Alonso in various countries around the globe including the Dominican Republic and Brazil, giving the audience a glimpse of what to expect from the ambassador and the Website. Carrancho says the purpose of the site is to be interactive, so travel coverage in urban neighborhoods such as Detroit and Harlem is encouraged for members of the site to invite people to visit their communities as travel destinations.
After the news conference, dinner, catered by celebrity chef and Harlem restaurant owner, Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster, was served. The private, invite-only crowd was entertained by the soulful sounds of recording artist Melanie Fiona. In attendance were the likes of Basketball Wives’ Jennifer Williams, Love & Hip Hop’s Somaya Reece, New York Knicks’ J.R. Smith, HGTV host Tanika Ray, bloggers Necole Bitchie, Rae Holliday and Gabriel Williams of Stuff Fly People Like, Chuck Creekmur of AllHipHop.com and many more.
To learn more about travel, watch videos featuring Laz Alonso’s journeys, or submit your own videos chronicling your world travels, visit Blackatlas.com.