Shayla Martin

“The original intent of this [school] was to destroy our culture,” says Stacey Montooth, executive director of the Nevada Department of Native American Affairs and citizen of the Walker River Paiute Nation. Together, under a cloudless Nevada sky in Carson City, she and I stroll the campus of the Stewart Indian School, a boarding school that opened in 1890 by the US government as part of a greater effort to force Indigenous children to assimilate—at all costs—into white society.
As we walk alo...

I knew I was in for a ski trip unlike any other I’ve ever experienced before I even arrived in Big Sky, Montana. My mom (my favorite travel companion) and I were en route to the 2024 National Brotherhood of Snowsports (NBS) summit, and as newbies, we didn’t exactly know what to expect, but to say we were giddy was an understatement. Cut to our layover in Chicago, where we awaited our flight to Bozeman among dozens of Black people in their winter finery: personalized ski jackets, floor-length ...

On a snowy trip to Rochester and Auburn, N.Y., a writer explores the cities that Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman called home.
Memphis. Atlanta. Birmingham. There are certain American cities that are known for Black history. But African American history and culture can, of course, be found across the United States, in seemingly unlikely cities, like Portland, Maine, say, or Providence, R.I.
Many of these places are included in the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom Program, which...

At times, Washington D.C. can feel like a tale of two cities: Politicians and temporary dwellers versus multi-generational residents fighting to hold onto their piece of the district. Once known as “Chocolate City” because of its predominantly African American population, Washington has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent decades, bringing both positive and negative effects of gentrification. The second phase of a $3.6 billion development of the Wharf district has contributed a...

“There are only two reasons you’ll ever learn a language—because you really love it or because you really need it,” says Pachi, my Spanish coach, who happens to speak four other languages. I stare at him as the afternoon sun streams through the window of our two-person classroom. I’m in the third of my four hours of instruction for the day, midway through the intensive, week-long Fluenz Spanish language immersion program in Mexico City. My brain has hit a wall.

I sit there, pondering his statement. Do I need Spanish? As a resident of Washington, D.C., the simple answer is no. Do I love it?...

No other song on Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s latest country music album, transports me to another place and time like “Ya Ya.”

The rhythmic snapping, clapping, boot stomping, and call and response from the theoretical ladies and fellas in the audience evokes a period in Black American history (particularly in the Deep South) that I can visualize in my mind, but as a child of the post–Jim Crow era, have never experienced myself. On one hand, I’m grateful for the sacrifices of my parents and grandparents that allowed certain freedoms and safety they never had, but on another, I’ve wondered what it

How to 'date yourself' in a sea of couples, honeymooners be damned.
I was never one of those little girls who fantasized about their wedding day, but I absolutely fantasized about my honeymoon. I spent hours daydreaming about where I’d go, whether that be an epic voyage in the Mediterranean like my parents, or an ancestral homegoing journey through West Africa. But I never really thought about the fact that a honeymoon is a trip couples take to celebrate their nuptials. The emphasis was alway...

Where to enjoy one of the world’s most popular drinks and learn about its history.
When I walked into Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club, a Memphis-based coffee shop on a sunny Thursday in October, I could immediately tell the vibe was different. Soft hip-hop beats played over the speakers; tables were filled with locals chatting and sipping coffee. No one was hunched over their laptops with headphones on trying to block out the world; rather, the space felt intentionally designed for fostering ...

“Writing is proof of our existence.” These words crawl across a film screen in Montblanc Haus, a three-level experiential museum celebrating the world’s most iconic writing instrument. With its opening in Hamburg, Germany, comes an invitation into the lore and craft of the nearly 120-year-old pen maker whose crown jewel, the Meisterstück, has been prized by titan writers from John F. Kennedy—famously offering his to the German chancellor at the 1963 signing of the golden book in Cologne—to An...

“The first time I visited Paris in 2002, I absolutely hated it,” Nathan Heinrich, a horticulturist and botanical designer based in northern Italy, tells AD. Nearly two decades went by before he, like many of us during COVID isolation, became hooked on the Netflix sensation Emily in Paris in September 2020.
“As I watched the show, I began to question my negative memories of the city. Yes, it was hot and full of people, but was Paris really as awful as I remember it? Were the show creators sele...

Growing up in northern Virginia, most of my geography classes focused on the state and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic. My parents took that as an open invitation to turn my studies into real-life adventures, whisking me off on day trips to explore all the spots I’d read about in school. We creeped through caves and learned about stalactites in Luray Caverns, we watched actors in era-appropriate clothing churn butter in Colonial Williamsburg, and we regularly popped over to Maryland’s Eastern Sh...

To say that expectations around Universal's new Epic Universe are high is an understatement: this massive $7 billion theme park (the first major one to open in the U.S. since 1999) is pulling out all the stops with five themed lands: Wizarding World of Harry Potter–Ministry of Magic; How to Train Your Dragon–Isle of Berk; Dark Universe; Super Nintendo World; and Celestial Park.
I got to spend a full day checking out the 700-acre park before its opening, so I know the scoop on how to navigate ...

“Preservation is a revolutionary act.”
These are the words from Dr. Kwesi Daniels, head of the architecture department at Tuskegee University, that open the new documentary about the work of the HOPE Crew (hands-on preservation experience), a fellowship program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
The documentary covers the 2022 experience of five students studying at three historically Black colleges and uni...

There's something for everyone, from adventurous hikers to Anne of Green Gables fans.
I fantasize on a weekly basis about moving to Canada for a plethora of reasons, but at the top of the list is regular access to the country’s rugged wilderness. There’s something about the snow-dusted lodgepole pines, fiery yellow larch trees, and sparkling glacier-fed lakes that soothes my city-dwelling soul. For now, I’ve settled for being a frequent visitor, spending the majority of my travel time in Cana...