Diaspora - Stories from Home : Sienna

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

A brief background of the Black diaspora in the U.S. :

According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 12.5 million Africans were sent to the Americas, but “only” 388,000 of them were sent to North America. It’s also difficult to pinpoint exactly which parts of Africa, Black Americans came from, which is one of the many reasons the Black identity in the U.S. is so complicated.

Throughout the 20th century, in the midst of numerous wars, many deployed Black Americans decided to stay behind. Citing better living conditions for Black people than back in the states. France, the UK and Russia were some of the most notable places in Europe, though many artists and intellectuals also felt a call to “home” and settled in different parts of Africa. After the 2016 election there was an increase in Black Americans looking to leave the country. But even for those not leaving home permanently, Black travel is still a booming business – it is estimated that they spend about $63 billion dollars annually.

Sienna Brown is the founder of Las Morenas de España and a personal inspiration to me. That might sound hyperbolic to some, but having grown up in Madrid in the 90s, seeing anyone resemble me was such a phenomenon, my mom still tells me how I used to want to hug any Black person I saw (what are boundaries?).

LMDES is a platform and community for women of colour looking to build their lives in Spain. They provide resources and create experiences to help fellow women of colour connect. They also give visibility to a community often unrepresented in travel. So when I first found out about Las Morenas de España in 2015, I knew I had to make my way to their event in Madrid. At the time, I was living in Germany, but a 1.5-hour flight was a small fee to pay for the experience. When I walked into the event and saw a room full of Black women, I knew this was going to be something special. Sienna has given a lot of us (women of colour in Spain) what we didn't know we needed.

Sienna is a born and bred New Yorker who has been living in Spain for the past 6 years. Her Instagram feed is motivational in more ways than one. It often includes early morning rituals, cooking lessons, and travel tips. She doesn’t post to boast, her passion for helping other women of color design their futures, and find their sense of joy is authentic. But it wasn’t always morning runs by the sea for Sienna, she's worked for every inch of space she so beautifully occupies today. As she describes it, “I came from a single parent, matriarchal household and we've come such [sic] long way from when I was a little girl”.

“I’m able to be 100% who I am, no questions asked ”

She is the first person to live abroad in her family, and she never takes that privilege for granted. “For me, living abroad has given me the access and opportunity to truly redefine how I define both success and happiness. It's allowed for me to heal from past trauma and then create a safe space for myself and those close to me to rethink what is possible for us. Family is everything for me and I view that me living abroad is one of the best ways to pass the torch of intergenerational health and wealth to those who will come after me.”

Sienna might be onto something. When James Baldwin left America, he argued: "One sees it better from a distance...from another place, from another country." And perhaps that can also be true about ourselves. As Sienna explains, “Living abroad has changed my perspective on my identity in so many ways. It's allowed for me to become the freest and most actualized version of myself in ways that I could have never imagined. Living in America, especially as a woman of color, you have so mushc [sic] stacked against you that you're fighting to survive. Since I've moved abroad, I've been able to thrive as an individual and in turn, empower other women of color to do the same. . . . I'm able to be 100% who I am, no questions asked and I wouldn't change that for the world.”

What made you create a platform for other Black women?

"Having a safe space and community for other like-minded women of color is something that has always been close to my heart because for many years... I never had one. When I was moving back to Spain, there was only negative narratives being shared of what it was like to be a Black woman in Spain. I knew (and had personally had) really positive experiences in Spain and wanted to redefine the narrative for myself and others. There is something so powerful in having a community of women who look like you, going after their big dreams in life. Over the years, it's grown into a movement bigger than I could have ever imagined and I'm grateful for it."

How do you find a way to celebrate your culture while living in Spain?

". . . the biggest thing is making sure that I don't shrink just because I might be hyper-visible in Spain. That's my biggest way to celebrate culture and keep it alive. By being 1000% myself and sharing those parts of me and that part of my culture with other people who are living here. Also, simple things like... cooking baked macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving or taking out time to catch up with friends when I can."

Why is important for you to keep certain traditions alive?

"It's a part of who I am and where I come from. Being raised by only Black women has given me such a special sense of self and strength that it would be a shame not to share that with the world. What does home mean to you? Home is a place where I'm fully accepted and surrounded by people that I love. Living abroad long-term will have you redefine how you think about home but for me, it's so important to feel as if you belong in the place that you call home. In my case, that's in NY when I'm around my family but that's also in Murcia (where I lived for 3 years) and have an extremely strong support system and sense of community. For me, home is also in Javea, where I currently have been living for now 3 years where I am most at peace.”

What does home meant to you?

“I've been thinking about this questions a lot lately. For me, home is a place where I'm fully accepted and surrounded by people that I love. Living abroad long-term will definitely have you redefine how you think about home but for me, it's so important to feel as if you belong in the place that you call home. In my case, that's in NY when I'm around my family but that's also in Murcia (where I lived for 3 years) and have an extremely strong support system and sense of community. For me, home is also in Javea, where I currently have been living for now 3 years where I am most at peace.”