By Yolanda Younger and Thomas Bowen
Black Diary 1887, the revolutionary, GPS-enabled cell app reimagining cultural tourism via a Black lens, is formally launching its Washington, D.C. version.
Initially launched in Paris, with almost 1,000 entries that includes individuals, locations and occasions, Black Diary 1887 is now obtainable in 30 U.S. cities, with the D.C. version providing customers immersive self-guided excursions via neighborhoods like Shaw, Columbia Heights, Bloomingdale and Anacostia. The app highlights Go-Go music websites, African embassies, Black-owned companies, historic landmarks and areas of cultural resistance and celebration—rooted within the tales of the African Diaspora.
“Too typically, Black cultural contributions are ignored or fragmented. Black Diary 1887 brings these narratives collectively into one wealthy, accessible platform,” says founder Yolanda Younger, a D.C. -based journalist, lawyer and activist.
Black Diary 1887 is totally free to obtain and use, and the corporate hopes to maintain this accessibility via a mix of sponsorships and a “pay what you may” mannequin—making certain the app stays open and inclusive for all customers.
The origin story: From Paris to D.C.
In 2019, Younger traveled to Paris and joined a “Black Paris” strolling tour. Although impressed by the content material, she discovered the format expensive, rigid and too restricted for the wealthy historical past she knew was on the market. As Toni Morrison famously mentioned, “If there’s a ebook you need to learn, nevertheless it hasn’t been written but, then you should write it.”
Over the course of 4 years, Yolanda Younger meticulously gathered analysis and spent one other six months collaborating with builders to rework what started as an audio image ebook into a totally interactive cell app. Throughout her analysis, she uncovered that Frederick Douglass had saved a journey diary whereas in Paris in 1887—a discovery that impressed the app’s title, Black Diary 1887. When launched on Kickstarter, the venture shortly resonated with supporters, reaching its $10,000 funding purpose in simply 10 days—an achievement that outpaces 65 % of all campaigns and indicators a robust public urge for food for inclusive, tech-forward explorations of tradition and historical past.
Black Diary 1887 is proud to announce Thomas Bowen as a Founding Companion. A revered chief in religion and public engagement and a seasoned cultural strategist, Bowen served as a senior advisor in President Biden’s White Home and in high roles below D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. His involvement underscores the venture’s dedication to cultural depth, neighborhood impression and historic fact.
From the Parisian café Les Deux Magots, the place a broke however good James Baldwin as soon as debated Richard Wright, to D.C.’s U Avenue Hall pulsing with Go-Go rhythms, Black Diary 1887 connects the worldwide Black expertise throughout time and house.
Why it issues: The heartbeat of the tradition
The app celebrates not simply main occasions and icons, but in addition the on a regular basis pulse of Black life. There are particular strolling routes that pay homage to:
The Black Press — as soon as the only real recorder of Black life, thought and resistance.
The Black Church — the religious and social epicenter round which communities revolved and developed.
On a regular basis Icons — entrepreneurs, educators, musicians and native legends who formed D.C.’s cultural id.
Black Diary 1887 additionally options reside “Round Me” GPS-maps with color-coded factors of curiosity (e.g., purple for eating places, gold for nightspots), and shortly, will host in-person pop-up occasions like jazz live shows and literary salons.
