It only took three trips; Cancun, Las Vegas and Barbados, each leaving me wanting to connect with the locals more that influenced my decision to curate experiences with a few goals in mind:

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- make tourists feel like human again

- combat Black erasure/gentrification

- connect visitors to the everyday life of locals

- encourage local pride and reduce community harm

- to counter overtourism/overcrowded attractions
- redirect tourists' dollars to Black businesses
 

it was the deep conversations with locals that left me pissed and frustrated that they were dealing with the same issues we faced back home. From gentrification, lack of livable wages, corporate greed plus resort owners privatizing beaches the locals have enjoyed for free since forever. This led me to see Philly in a new light and in the spring of 2018...I decided to reimagine Black Philadelphia out loud.

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Although I have held many titles in my life from mom, public speaker, solutionist, hood healer, school/community volunteer, nanny, photographer, foster parent, etc; all them fall under the well-built umbrella of human, storyteller, and hood advocate.

 

My research revealed that my majority Black city was playing in our faces with over 7 BILLION dollars every year via tourism, yet our schools, potholes, pride, and community issues are still major issues in 2024. I became increasingly curious to find out what would be the result of rerouting some of that money into our communities before they are violently gentrified again.

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The vision? Besides taking over the world lol. It's simple. Build Black Philly to be unfuckwittable (poetic license). 

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Ultimately, our mission at Philly Experiences is to:

- promote a positive image of Black Philadelphia

- provide exciting careers to locals

- curate experiences that amplify Black humans, joy and history

- build and empathetic community among locals and visitors

- make visitors humans again instead of dollar signs our tourism industry see them as today
- increase foot traffic and sales for businesses in the hood

- challenge the narrative on what is considered the "hood/ghetto" and by who​

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Interested in partnering with Philly Experiences? We would love to partner and grow in impact with humans and organizations that intentionally choose to uplift, amplify, heal, and build our Black communities to their greatest potential. Philly Experiences X (insert your name/organization) is the solution to a number of the issues Black Philadelphia face in 2024 and beyond. Start the conversation with us at info@phillyexperiences.com

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I am soooo thankful that this brand is still standing during these unpredictable times (banned books/education, pandemic, protests, mokeypox, wars (gender/political/automony), etc. Since 2018, Philly Experiences has shown locals and visitors that it's ok to finally like or deeply fall in love with Philly by connecting both groups through tours, experiences and digital travel guides curated with love and a passion to heal, create, grow and turn up throughout our city. Join us...xoxo, Chrissy