E104 The Stories Hospitality Left Out with Calvin Stovall Jr.

<p>Today, we think of a hotel as a place to sleep.</p><p>However, there was a time when finding the right hotel could mean safety, dignity, belonging, and freedom.</p><p>In this powerful episode of <em>The YES Show</em>, Christine sits down with Calvin Stovall Jr., hospitality executive, speaker, and author of the NAACP Image Award-nominated book <em>Hidden Hospitality</em>.</p><p>Calvin brings forward the overlooked stories of Black hoteliers and entrepreneurs dating back to the 1700s. These leaders did not simply build places to stay. They created spaces where Black travelers could gather, experience joy, build community, and fully be themselves during a time when much of the country refused to welcome them.</p><p>Calvin shares how a childhood book from his mother inspired this nearly five-year journey, why he believes he was chosen to preserve these stories, and what it meant to finally place the finished book into his sons’ hands.</p><p><br></p><p>Together, Christine and Calvin explore a powerful question: <strong>Was hospitality itself a form of resistance?</strong></p><p><br></p><p>They also discuss the missing pieces in hospitality’s history, the responsibility we have to share these stories all year long, and the legacy created when one person refuses to let an important story remain hidden.</p><p><br></p><p>This conversation will change the way you think about hotels, hospitality, and what it truly means to create a place where someone belongs.</p><p><br></p><p>Key takeaways:</p><p>🎯A hotel can represent far more than a room. For many Black travelers, it represented safety, dignity, freedom, and belonging.</p><p>🎯Black hoteliers and entrepreneurs created spaces of joy and community while resisting exclusion.</p><p>🎯Hospitality becomes powerful when it communicates, “You are safe here. You are welcome here. You belong here.”</p><p>🎯Representation shapes confidence. The book Calvin’s mother gave him as a child helped him see what was possible for his own life.</p><p>🎯Preserving overlooked stories helps complete what Calvin calls “the quilt of hospitality history.”</p><p>🎯Legacy projects require patience and persistence. Hidden Hospitality took nearly five years to complete.</p><p>🎯Black history is American history and belongs in our conversations throughout the entire year.</p><p><br></p><p>Your action items:</p><p>🟢Read Hidden Hospitality and share one story with your team, family, or community.</p><p>🟢Ask your team: Does every person who enters our space genuinely feel safe, welcomed, and free to be themselves?</p><p>🟢Learn about one overlooked hospitality leader from your city or region.</p><p>🟢Include Black hospitality history in your leadership conversations and training throughout the year, not only during February.</p><p>🟢Identify a story from your family, company, or community that could be lost if you do not preserve it.</p><p>🟢Take one step toward completing the meaningful project you have been postponing.</p><p><br></p><p>Connect with Calvin:</p><p>📍Website: https://www.calvinstovall.com/</p><p>📍LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvinstovall/</p><p>📍Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iconicspeaker/</p><p>Connect with Christine:</p><p>📍 Website: The Wise Pineapple</p><p>📍 LinkedIn: Christine Trippi on LinkedIn</p><p>📍 Instagram: The Wise Pineapple on Instagram</p><p>📍 YouTube: The Wise Pineapple on YouTube</p><p>📍 FREE Facebook Group for Hoteliers: Join the Wise Pineapple Facebook Group</p><p>📍 Join the Crown Society: Join the Crown Society</p>