Chakita - Private Guide in Nashville

Languages: English

I was a teacher in charter school and also took walking tours about black history in Nashville and other cities. But I was not satisfied with the information that i was told to provide as it would either say nothing about black history, or there would be one black fact. So I started my own walking tours company "United Street Tours", that focuses on black history in Nashville. Currently, I averages about four tours a week. People can choose from two tours: African-American culture and Civil Rights Movement.

I spent weeks on research! I reached out to some local history professors and talked to them about history, the narrative and their perspectives. I put the tour together and presented it to them and my friends. The response was, “That was awful!” They hated it! They said, “You’re telling us all facts. We don’t want to hear facts. We want to hear stories.”

You have to thank God for great friends and people who will tell you the truth! I went back to the drawing board and completely changed everything. Storytelling is a skill, and I had to learn that skill. Once I had it all together, it was beautiful. We have had nothing but five-star reviews. I have to attribute that to the moment when people said, “Chakita this isn’t great. This is bad.” If it wasn’t for that moment, it wouldn’t have pushed me to do better.