Bal Harbour

The pa s t yea r ha s been cha l len g i n g for a l l of u s, but for t ravel hos t Ernes t W h ite II, it ha s a l so i ncluded ma jor profes siona l h i g h s. H i s 11-epi sode PBS series, Fly Brother With Ernes t W h ite II, debuted la s t spri n g, t a k i n g v iewers to les ser-t raveled places l i ke Eth iopia, Na m i bia a nd A fg ha n i s t a n, a nd showca si n g h i s rea l-l i fe f riend sh ips. I n a yea r that broug ht socia l ju s t ice i s sues to the foref ront, h i s perspect ive a s a Black, gay t ravel hos t feel s ref resh i n g a nd overdue. Before l i fe as a TV host, the Jacksonv i l le, Florida nat ive l ived and worked as a journal ist and educator i n São Paulo, Cape Tow n and Berl i n, among other places. He started h is blog, Fly Brother, i n 2008, and its success led to broadcast gigs w ith brands l i ke Travel Chan nel. Up nex t? He is work i ng on season t wo of Fly Brother and new spi n-of fs and product ions w ith h is creat ive st udio, Presidio Pict ures, focusi ng on BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and sen ior narrat ives. We chat ted w ith the charismat ic W h ite, 43, about h is purpose i n l i fe, where he wants to go nex t and t ransformat ional t ravel ex periences. You have built a life that you've worked so hard for—with some luck, too!—but you often say that you want to bring people along with you. Can you talk more about that? I see it more as what am I here to do rather than what do I want. And that is to help people feel seen, empowered, and loved. I named my company, Presidio Pictures, after the Presidio in San Francisco, a place that means so much to me in terms of magic and romance. Romance isn't just between two people attracted to each other, but the attraction and alignment we have with life. There is a romance to eating delicious food, laughing with your friends, a great view, a song that takes you back. And there is romance when you're in your mission and work, and Flying High TRAVEL CAME TO A HALT LAST YEAR. TV HOST ERNEST WHITE II STILL TOOK US AROUND THE WORLD. By A n n ie Fitzsi m mon s you think—I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. Travel is the romance of life and I want everyone to have that feeling. What are the places you love to return to again and again? South Africa, São Paulo, Sweden, India, and Ireland. I lived in Brazil and South Africa, and studied abroad in Sweden. Stockholm is like my European hometown—I have so many amazing friends there. And where do you want to go when we can travel more freely? Greenland—for the "away-ness" and adventure of it. I also want to go to Madagascar and I'd love to go to Iran. Tell me about one of the WOW moments from your travels. In Tajikistan, we went to a castle that was a Silk Road ruin. It was 3,000 years old—12,000 feet up overlooking Afghanistan—and we were the third camera crew ever to visit. It was powerful and humbling to be in this space with so much history, a place of comfort in a historically inhospitable environment, connecting east and west. I didn't speak the same language as the caretaker, but there was an understanding, and he gave me a beautiful piece of quartz that I still have, just to give me a piece of his world. I also traveled to Natchez, Mississippi because I was curious. There, I stayed in an old plantation house and learned the story of John Lynch, who had lived there when he was born into slavery, freed after the Civil War, and was elected as the youngest member of Congress at age 26. He later became an attorney and died at 92 years old in Chicago. These are stories that go untold because we're afraid to open our eyes or seek out different places. Fly Brother With Ernest White II will return for a second season on PBS. Ernest White II in Stockholm (left and far left), in Cape Town (above) and below in Addis Ababa. "Travel is the romance of life and I want everyone to have that feeling." 90 BAL HARBOUR

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