When Quirtina Crittenden first tried booking rooms on the shortterm rental platform Airbnb, she kept getting turned down. Then she modified her profile, shortening her name to “Tina” and using a generic landscape photo instead of a portrait—and hosts approved her requests. In 2016, the black 24-year-old created the #AirbnbWhileBlack hashtag to share experiences of racial discrimination on the platform. The hashtag went viral, and Crittenden discovered that she was far from the only black…

To read this article and start a full year of unlimited online access, subscribe now!

Already a subscriber?

Need to register for your premium online access,
which is included with your paid subscription?

Support SSIR’s coverage of cross-sector solutions to global challenges. 
Help us further the reach of innovative ideas. Donate today.

Read more stories by Noël Duan.