Who is Kiratiana Freelon? A travel expert, Olympic enthusiast, journalist, speaker, and author. Kiratiana first caught the travel bug as a 20-year-old college student studying abroad in Munich. Her casual weekend trips to places like Florence, Prague and Paris left her with a desire to explore even more of the world. After graduating from Harvard University with a bachelors degree in economics, she was awarded the prestigious John H. Finley fellowship that took her across West Africa, Brazil and Europe. Feeling the need to share her experiences and encourage others to engage in impactful cultural exploration while traveling, she authored her first travel-focused book, aptly entitled,“Kiratiana’s Travel Guide to Black Paris: Get Lost and Get Found.”
As a traveller, she has explored more than 25 countries, spanning 5 continents, and has lived in France, Germany, and Brazil. As an author, she has written for Jet magazine, theGrio.com, BlackAtlas.com, Bonjourparis.com. As a journalist, she has covered the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Bejing (2008) and London (2012), as well as the 2024 World Track & FieldChampionships in Daegu, South Korea. As an expert on exploring global culture, she has been featured in many prominent media outlets, including the New York Times, Black Enterprise, the Chicago Defender, NABJ Digital blog, and Black Web 2.0. And, as a speaker, she has presented at South by SouthWest (SXSW), Blogalicious, and Alliance Française of Chicago.
As if not already wearing enough hats, Kiratiana has served as the editor of BlackAtlas.com, a social media travel site sponsored by American Airlines, and maintains her own travel website, KiratianaTravels.com. Kiratiana’s unique approach and perspective is catching the attention of various social media pundits, and just recently, her efforts in travel-focused digital media landed her on Black Enterprise’s list of Top Black People to Follow on Twitter. Of course, ever seeking to expand the resources available to those seeking meaningful cultrual exploration in their travels, Kiratiana’s most recent venture is an ebook, launched in the spirit of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, entitled Kiratiana’s Travel Guide to Multicultural London.
Kiratiana’s greatest hope is that this book will provide a platform from which to launch a lifelong love of travel and the type of genuine cultural exploration that enhances understanding among people who share this earth, and ensures a better future for ourselves and the generations that follow.
