Hear Javier’s stories of navigating his intersectional Afro-Panamanian-American experience in both the U.S. and Panama. Dr. Javier Wallace starts off talking about his mother’s family history in Texas and his father’s family history in Panama before migrating to the U.S. He shares his reflections on growing up in a bi-cultural home, playing football in Texas, attending Florida A&M University as a student athlete, then getting his Master’s Degree and pursuing a career in sports. Javier then discusses his decision to move to Panama and live there for 6 years. He opens up about his encounters with anti-Blackness in Panama, including violent experiences with law enforcement, his realizations about the power of passport privilege, and how all of that impacted his identity. Javier then talks about co-founding “Afro-Latinx Travel” and developing tours in Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica and Colombia that disrupt traditional tourism narratives, center marginalized stories, and benefit the local communities.
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Hosted by Matt Bowles
303: Navigating Anti-Blackness in Panama, Centering Marginalized Stories, and Co-Founding "AfroLatinx Travel" with Javier Wallace
Episode #303: Navigating Anti-Blackness in Panama, Centering Marginalized Stories, and Co-Founding “AfroLatinx Travel” with Javier Wallace
Hosted by Matt Bowles
303: Navigating Anti-Blackness in Panama, Centering Marginalized Stories, and Co-Founding "AfroLatinx Travel" with Javier Wallace
Episode Summary
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About the Guest

Dr. Javier Wallace
Dr. Javier Wallace is known as the “Master Storyteller” and is the founder of the award-winning Black Austin Tours and the co-founder of AfroLatinx Travel. He is a scholar, entrepreneur, world traveler and is currently the Race and Sport Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University. He was a Division 1 college football player at Florida A&M University, completed his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, and his research revolves around race, class, gender, labor migration, and transnationalism of athletes from the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. He is of U.S. and Panamanian heritage and, in all of his work, Javier seeks to amplify the themes of his lived experiences, work, and academic research through narrative storytelling.
What You'll Learn
- Understanding the Intersectional Dynamics of Anti-Blackness in Panama
- The Bi-Cultural Dynamics of Growing up as an Afro-Panamanian-American in Texas
- How to center AfroLatinx Perspectives and Stories when visiting Panama, Costa Rica, Cuba and Colombia.
Links From the Episode
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LEARN MORE ABOUT AFROLATINX TRAVEL
DRINKS CONSUMED DURING THIS INTERVIEW
MUSICIANS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
LOCATIONS WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
- Matt: Asheville, North Carolina
- Javier: Durham, North Carolina
UNIVERSITIES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Duke University
- Florida A&M University
- Houston Tillerson University
- Texas Southern University
- University of Texas at Austin
PLACES IN PANAMA MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
CONTACT AND FOLLOW JAVIER
Time Stamped Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
[1:12] Intro
[4:49] Javier’s Family History in Texas
[11:35] Javier’s Family History in Panama and Experience Migrating to Austin
[15:30] Growing up in a Bi-Cultural Home and Playing Football in Austin, Texas
[20:33] Attending Florida A&M University as a Division 1 Student Athlete
[26:49] Doing a Master’s Degree and Pursuing a Career in Sports
[31:15] First Experiences Traveling to Panama
[32:55] Reflections on Blackness and Passport Privilege in Panama
[40:26] Co-Founding AfroLatinx Travel
[44:43] The Afro-Panama Tour
[47:47] The Afro-Cuba Tour
[49:23] The Afro-Costa Rica Tour
[51:30] How to Learn more about AfroLatinX Travel