Black Europe: Exploring Dimensions of Citizenship, Race and Ethnic Relations. June 13th-30th 2010 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This course will examine the multiple constructions of the term Black Europe and the social, economic and political implications within. Students will be able to earn 3 US (5 ECTS) credits for their participation. The content and the description of the summer school are listed below. If you are interested in hearing more about the course, please send a request for additional information via email to a.abdou@ninsee.nl
Or visit the website, Ninsee Application Deadline April 15, 2010
Course Description Laws
A multitude of discourses have emerged relative to the internationalism of Blacks worldwide and particularly in the Americas, but the prominence and impact of the Black presence in Europe has not been adequately explored. This seminar will examine the multiple constructions of the term Black Europe and the social, economic and political implications within. We will look specifically at anti-discrimination laws as they have arisen in various European countries; comparing the history of regulation and management of race and ethnic relations and the discourse surrounding the concept of Blackness and self-identification.
Social conflict
The seminar will begin with a historical overview of social and civil conflict in Europe leading to the formation of laws and antidiscrimination legislation within the EU. We will trace the chain of events following social and civil conflicts that prompted these policies and analyze the legislative and intellectual discourse produced in the aftermath.
Blackness
We will also explore the notions of blackness as; an official categorization; as a social construction, employed by natives to indicate (non) belonging; as a Diaspora living within Europe; and as a contestation of the dominant (White) paradigm. We will focus on the historical and colonial legacies of European countries to discuss the origins of Black Europe and investigate the impact of these legacies on policies and legislation.
Race & ethnic relations
This course will also seek to address the dimensions of race and ethnic relations that are unique to Europe; examining the ways in which conceptions of the “other” are institutionalized and reproduced; the rise of xenophobia in various EU countries; the legal definitions and discourse surrounding the conceptualized “other”; and examining the ways in which each country has dealt with issues of race and national identity.
In the Dutch city of Deventer an 18-year old black Pete (zwarte Piet) was attacked yesterday by a group of black men. They tried to wipe off his blackface makeup with a wet sponge.
According the attackers the action was intended as a statement.
The men approached the black Pete and then held him. One of them attacked him a wet sponge, but the boy managed to free himself. Another Black Pete recorded the incident on video with a “black Pete camera”, according to the Stentor.
The attacked Peter told the police he received several blows to his stomach and face. The 21-year-old man with the sponge stated that the action was a playful statement, which he wanted to record for a study assignment . He opted to demake up a black Pete as a statement about the phenomenon black Pete, which he perceives as discrimination.
The justice department must still decide what will happen with the case
It’s Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) and black Peter time in The Netherlands. Which means blackface characters in the streets, in the shops and in the schools. The Sinterklaas feast is an annual children’s event, which starts in the middle of November and peaks on the birthday of Sinterklaas on December 5th. The whole event revolves around presents, so this is retail primetime of the year.
But the black Peter character in the Sinterklaas event has become controversial over the years. Some black people feel the black Pete character is racist, but others feel the black Peter discussion is to serious. The popular opinion in Netherlands is, that the Sinterklaas feast is a part of the Dutch culture and identity, and that it should be protected at all costs. Black Peter is not a black person, he's a chimney sweeper.
Black Peter: offensive or just fun? (Dutch)
"I Like it, but somehow it's racist. Because of black Peter of course. Those thinks happened during slavery. It still happens."
Dutch writer Lulu Helder was the first who actively protested against the black Peter character. In the Amsterdam district Bijlmer (the urban part of Amsterdam) she pamphleted a primary school with the message: zwarte piet is zwart verdriet (black Pete is black grief). See her take on the matter here.
It obvious that black Pete is racist. Before this became an issue, black Peter often spoke broken Dutch with a Surinamese accent. After the protests black Peter gradually stopped speaking "pigeon" Dutch.
So to end, some more videos on this matter.
First: Sinterklaas in Amsterdam. This it what you might see if you happend to be in Amsterdam near the Rijksmuseum in November. P.s. There's also a black man as black Peter in this video.
Black Peter: what exactly is the problem?
"Yes, I like Sinterklaas. I celebrated it when I was a kid . Then it didn't bother anyone if it was black Pete. When you're a kid you don't look at it too seriously. It doesn't bother children. I don't think adults should make a big deal out of this. It's just fun for everyone.".
Dutch Jazz / Pop Singer Sabrina Starke confirmed her status as fan favourite by winning the Edison Public Prize. Earlier this year Starke won the Edison Best Pop award for best newcomer. She receives the Public prize for her debut album Yellow Brick Road. Starke is under contract with Blue Note Records.
The Public Prize is an initiative of the Edison Foundation and Jazz Magazine. In recent months readers of the magazine voted for their favourite artist and album. Starke received over 42 percent of the vote, chased by the Wicked Jazz Sounds Band with their album The Biggest Sin.
A Woman's gonna Try; The new Official Music video by Sabrina Starke , from her album Yellow Brick Road (C) bluenote 2009
Is it blackface or not, that is the question. Dutch television host Wendy van Dijk transformed herself into a stereotype black Antillean woman to fool Dutch Celebs. She called her Lucretia Martine, the weather woman from Curaçao. It was a transformation like Eddy Murphy did in the Nutty Professor. But there is one big difference, Wendy van Dijk is a white woman.
The television show is a big hit in Holland, already 2 million viewers watched the first show. But not everyone is happy with Van Dijk's creation. Surinam Actress and Singer Lucretia van der Vloot and and Author Clarck called it ridiculous.
Within the Surinamese and Antillean community there is criticism that Van Dijk stereotyped Antillean women: thick lips, fat ass, lazy, and always talking about sex. But the criticism of Van der Vloot and Accord is not about the fact that she impersonated a black woman, but that she played an Antillean woman, but talked as Surinam woman. Which is the same as playing an American woman, but talking like a Jamaican. Writer Accord feels that Van Dijk should have known better, because she went to a black urban school in Amsterdam Bijlmer.
Wendy van Dijk’s act also sparked criticism on the media in general. At this moment Van Dijk’s Antillean woman is the only 'black' woman on Dutch television. Black people aren't underrepresented they have become totally absent on Dutch television.
Van Dijk says she doesn't understand the criticism: "I am only trying to play a funny, independent and well spoken woman."
The marketing agency of the Dutch Antillean island Curacao is happy with Van Dijk’s Curaçao woman act. They have offered her a contract to promote the Island.
Van Dijk also played a Japanese woman called Ushi, Lucreatia Martina, the weather woman from Curaçao, is her latest creation.
Update: see the interesting discussion on Shadowandact about blackface and and the Dutch Antillean character here
Dutch Antillean singer Izaline Calister won the Dutch Edison Award 2009 in the category Jazz/world music. The Edison Awards are Grammy Awards of The Netherlands. She received the Edison for her album Speransa. The award ceremony will be held on November 19th.
Calister’s first videoclip just has been released. The song is called ‘Mi Pais’ (My Country) and tells about her love for her sometimes hampered island. It is a track of her latest cd-release, ’Speransa’. The clip is shot on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao.
What if all the Moroccans in the Netherlands were to pack up and leave? This is the question posed by an internet video.
In the video A man cycles in his dressing gown to collect his own newspaper from a pile in the street – the Moroccan delivery man has left the country. Streets are strewn with litter, buildings fall into disrepair. Stranded commuters queue for taxis, with no one left to drive them. “Last Moroccan leaves today,” reads the newspaper headline, as a plane overhead flies south. “Last Moroccan leaves the Netherlands” Moroccans tend to feature in the Dutch media as young criminals, causing nuisance in the street, hurling abuse at gays and women, and carrying out muggings and robberies. Or indeed as Muslims struggling to integrate, in a debate driven by anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom Party. Mr Wilders has said he would not hesitate to deport Muslims who commit crimes or fail to integrate into Dutch society – and his party is riding high in the polls.
An interesting video of a minority group under pressure. But for a community who has been in the Netherlands since the sixties, it is very one sided view. It seems that they will only be missed if the newspaper is not being delivered anymore.
Although their unemployment rate is the highest of all minority groups the Netherlands, there is a large group of young and ambitious Moroccans who are successfully entering the professional sector. This video is more a street view.
I wonder how a video entitled "Last black person leaves Europe" would look like.
It seems like a ghetto disease, but just like East London also Amsterdam Bijlmer is turning into an American ghetto. Amsterdam Bijlmer is a neighboorhood in the city district Amsterdam South-East, it's the district where large Antillean, Surinam and African communities live.
The latest incident was the killing of a nineteen year old black teenager by an another black teenager. With twenty-two shooting incidents this year, Amsterdam Bijlmer is headline news in The Netherlands.
In the Hip Hop music video you see how the black chairwoman of Amsterdam-South-East, Elvira Sweet, is being shouted at by a teenager. While Sweet is saying, "We are doing everything, not only as city council, but also with police ..," she is brutally interrupted. “F** that," he shouts. "You're doing nothing. Now you stand here, you never stand here. You think you have the right to speak. You're never here man!” Amsterdam South-East is my old neighbourhood, but something has changed dramatically over the years. More then ten years ago I lived there and wrote for the local paper. Back then South-East was in the middle of a huge gentrification program, which triggered a Malcolm X style revolution. It started because the black population was left out of the decision making process. Eventually the protests changed the political landscape in the district, and for the first time a black chairman was chosen to head the local city council. Since then two black women held the position. But somehow the last chairman has lost complete control over the district.
The video is on youtube and is seen by all those black kids in the hood. Is this end of black leadership? To be continued …
Since it’s Black History Month in the UK, Des’ree's last video It’s Oke (2003) should be part of it. Not because it’s old, but because it’s her last. Although the video was shot in the UK it could have been shot in the Netherlands, at the famous Albert Cuyp Markt in Amsterdam to be exact. This video has that multicultural European big city sauce all over it.
It’s a shame Des’ree has completely stopped making music. So call this a small tribute.
For the second time the StrangerAcademy opens its doors in Amsterdam, this year from 13 - 17 October 2009.
Over 150 video-makers between the ages of 15 and 25 from across Europe will together improve their skills in video and storytelling. They will all take part in one of the professional-led StrangerAcademy workshops and show their work to an audience of experts and other video fans. All participants stay in the Stayokay hostel ajoining the festival location (Studio K, Timorplein, Amsterdam Oost).
Programme preview Strangeracademy: click here. Participants of the StrangerAcademy are the finalists of the StrangerFestival competition, talented video makers selected by our international partners and Dutch talented young video makers. Dutch video makers can still sign up!How? sent an email to puck@eurocult.org and ask for the registration form, or copy the text below & sign up. One of the conditions for signing up is you have to upload at least 1 self-made video on this website... you can also sign up when you have NOT uploaded a video and you take part in a beginner workshop. More info in the registration form.
After the post about the first black mayor in the Netherlands I got intrigued by the presence of black people in European politics. I did some research and found out that in all Western European countries, from Norway to Italy you could find at least one black face in parliament, and several people of non European descent representing their regions on different levels of government.
The more people of foreign origin in a country, the more they will be represented politically Therefore countries like France and the UK have the largest portion of black politicians, up to ministries and chief secretaries. Women and men. In all other countries, except for the Netherlands, their representation is very small, but it is there and that’s what matters.
I think of the Secretary of State for Sports in France, Rama Yade or the chief Secretary to the Treasury Paul Boateng in the UK. Both are part of a recent phenomenon but it is clear that many will follow in their footsteps. It is therefore no illusion that one day France could elect a black president (the current one is half Hungarian, and has some Greek-Jewish ancestry on his mother side…) and England will have a black prime minister. The colour of their skin doesn’t matter, in a true democratic system, the best candidate (whatever his origins) should eventually take office.
We shouldn’t forget either that the population of African ancestry in Western Europe is very small. In countries like France (without its Caribbean territories), the Netherlands and the UK they represent approx. 3% to 5% of the population (mixed race included). However, you’ll find high concentrations in the cities, predominantly in certain areas of London and Paris. But even then, rarely do black people represent more than 50% of a municipality’s population.
In this context I did some research to the election of Black mayors throughout Europe. Although I can’t guarantee that I researched the topic thoroughly enough, I think I can give you an idea here. What is surprising is that the presence of a lot of black people in a municipality doesn’t mean you have a greater chance to find a black mayor. On the contrary, all black mayors were elected in rather small towns, with very few black people. They were elected not because of the colour of their skin, but because the people thought that she/he was the right person for that job. It all started in 1904 in Thetford, Norfolk.
The first in the UK
Picture of John Archer
John Richard Archer is generally believed to be the first black mayor in the UK, elected (nominated) in Battersea in 1913, a municipality in the London area. However it was found that Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns (1858-1930), elected Mayor of the town of Thetford, Norfolk in 1904, was the first black man to become a mayor in Britain. He was a doctor, surgeon and politician. However, there is very little information about him. Much more is known about John Archer and therefore he is often mentioned as the first black mayor of Britain.
John Archer was born in Liverpool in 1863. His father was from Barbados and worked as a ship’s steward. His mother was Irish. Nothing is known about Archer’s education but as a young man he travelled the world probably spending some time in the West Indies and North America. During this time he met and married Bertha, a black Canadian.
Archer and his wife settled in Battersea in the 1890s and in 1913 he became Mayor of Battersea. Read more about him on this website and this website too
The first in France
Raphaël Elizé
In France we will have to wait until 1929 before the First black mayor is elected. Raphaël Elizé was elected as mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe, a rural town in the department Pays de la Loire (central western France) of around 12.000 inhabitants. Raphaël Elizé was born on the Caribbean island of Martinique in 1891. He graduated as veterinary from the university of Lyon, France and during World War I he served for the French army in Europe. After WWI he settles in Sablé and starts a political career with the Socialist Party. During World War II he was part of the Résistance. He was deported to Buchenwald and died there in 1945. Phillippe Bérenger, a French filmmaker, is working on a film about this man ‘Le Nègre de Sablé’.
Below I post a little youtube documentary about Elizé, (unfortunately only for those who understand French)
More info?
Except for John Archer, Allan Minns and Rafaël Elizé I have no knowledge of other people of African descent who became mayors in the then so-called Mother Countries in Europe. In England and the UK there might have been other cases but I do not know of any and couldn’t find any.
However several black political activist and politicians past and present have been active in the UK, at various levels of government. For a list check wikipedia’s Black British politician page .
France recently
It is not clear who is the next black mayor in France after Elizé. France is kind of mysterious about race and colour of skin. The official story is that it doesn’t exist and so official reports on the issue are nonexistent. It’s quite sure that it is Auguste Senghor (a nephew of Léopold Sedar Senghor) who was the next black mayor in Franc after Elizé, but sources contradict each other on the year of his taking office as a mayor. He was mayor of Le May-sur-Èvre (Maine-et-Loire, 3,891 inhabitants) several times. However the Wikipedia page of May-sur-Evre states Auguste Senghor was their mayor from 1977 till 1989 and from 1995 till 2008. This makes him the second black mayor in France and the longest ever running black mayor in France.
Last year he moved to another town on the Atlantic shores of Bretagne, (Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, 1900 inhabitants) and was recently elected mayor there. We are certain that Kofi Yamgnane who is originally from Togo, became mayor of Saint Coulitz in the department of Finistère, a tiny little village (approx. 400 inhabitants) in Bretagne, western France. He must be confused when he mentions on his webpage that he actually is the first black mayor of France. Not exactly but close. Fact is that in France race is taboo. It is illegal to classify people according to race, therefore the election of a black mayor will only be informally registered. But reading below what happened in 2008, you’ll discover that the government in Paris seems to be hypocritical about race.
The 2008 elections in France
In 2008 several black French mayors were elected, one of them Kader Atteye in the tiny village of Morey (180 inhabitants, central France, department Saône-et-Loire). He was born and raised in the region, his parents were immigrants from Djibouti. This election was not without problems because more than a third of the municipal council members (5 out of 11) have resigned in protest of the election of a black person with a Muslim background (though I doubt he is still a practicing Muslim, I didn’t find anything about it though. What is certain is that he has two kids and lives together with the mother of both kids in a tiny village of 180 people …). The mayor didn't have to run for reelection but stayed in office, however 5 new council members had to be elected. read more on this racist controversy here(in French) and on this link (in French) . A similar scenario occurred in another small town where the people elected a Frenchmen of Algerian origin.
Kader Atteye, mayor of a tiny village of 180 inhabitants
During the local elections in 2008 4 municipalities elected a mayor of African origin. One of them was Kader Atteye. All were small rural municipalities of less than 5000 people, and with no significant black population. Two mayors are of Afro Caribbean ancestry and 2 of African ancestry. More info via wikipedia
Spain
Hector Julio Castillo Figueroa
Spain just has a recent democratic history. As soon as 4 years after General Franco’s death the first black mayor is elected in Spain. On the 3rd of April 1979 Héctor Julio Castillo Figueroa is elected as mayor of Isla Cristina, a coastal town of 20.000 people on the Atlantic shores of southern Spain (close to the city of Cadiz). Figueroa was a native from the Dominican Republic. He is a doctor and currently still lives in Isla Cristina. If you read Spanish you can find more about him here
Until 2007 there is no info of any other black mayor in Spain. More recently Juan Antonio de la Morena Doca was elected mayor of the town of Villamantilla in 2007, a municipality in the greater Madrid area of just 800 people. His father is Spanish, his mother comes from Equatorial Guinea in Western Africa. You can read an interview with him on line in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo or there is also an article via this link. Juan Antonio de la Morena Doca
Italy
Sandy Cane
In Italy we have Sandy Cane, who is African American and Italian and was elected this year (2009) mayor of Viggiu (5000 inhabitants) a small town in the Italian Alps. The first mayor of African ancestry in Italy’s modern history (I say ‘modern’, as some research states that during the Roman empire, some 2000 years ago, people of African ancestry settled in Italy and were actively involved in local affairs and politics, read more here and here. I don't want to go into any discussion about this topic, as I am convinced that the concepts of race, as we understand it today, do not apply to that era). She was backed by the alleged xenophobic Lega Nord
Ireland
Rotimi Adebari
Ireland also elected its first black mayor. Rotimi Adebari, a native of Nigeria, was elected mayor of Portlaoise Town in 2007. Portlaoise(pronounced something like Portleash) is a town in central Ireland of approx. 14.000 inhabitants. However there is some controversy on the person of Rotimi Abedari as he would have lied about his troubles in Nigeria (and whereabouts previous to his life in Ireland) applying for the procedure to get legal residence in Ireland. More details about this issue are mentioned on the Wikipedia page here.
Netherlands
Joyce Sylvester
In the Netherlands Joyce Sylvester recently became mayor of Naarden, replacing the fromer mayor Anna Paulowna. As such she became the first black woman to become a mayor in the Netherlands. Naarden is a beautiful medieval town in Holland worth a touristic visit. It was recently elected as the most pleasant town to live in the Netherlands. Naarden is rather small, and also doesn’t have a predominantly black population, rather predominantly white. Sylvester is born in Amsterdam and from Surinamese origins.
But Joyce Sylvester was not the first black person to become a mayor of a Dutch municipality. This was Headly Binderhagel , a Surinam born creole man, who was mayor of Nuth from 2002 to 2008. Nuth is small town of 15.000 people in the southern province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Headly Binderhagel
Sylvester and Binderhagel became, like all the other AfroEuropean mayors, the mayor of a town because of their person, their communication skills, theri political skills, their character, … not because of race, not because of affirmative action …
Russia?
And as a last little thing this picture that I found on this link about an African running for mayor of a Russian town. Is this real or hoax? I don’t know, but it is worth a thorough research.
Slovenia
Peter Bossman
Peter Bossman (born 2 November 1955) is a Ghanaian-born Slovenian doctor and politician. He is currently the elected mayor of Piran, a city and municipality on the Gulf of Piran in south-western Slovenia. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats, he defeated the incumbent mayor in the October 2010 mayoral election to become Slovenia's first black mayor.
A photo exposition about youth gang culture in South London, from 6 September through 4 October 2009 at Noorderlicht international Photofestival 2009 in Groningen, the Netherlands. It's the exposition of the Irish photographer Adam Patterson. Read the interview with Patterson here.
But I wonder if he really succeeded in his mission. He teamed up with a guy called Vipoh who is from the Ivory Coast, which of course is French Africa. Patterson even went with him on a bus to France to photograph him at his aunties wedding. I don't know much about the situation in London, but wouldn't it have been more interesting to see the situation of born and raised young Afro-Caribbean Britons, who don't get on a bus to Paris?
Although I’am usually sceptical about this type of urban black community photography, I'am actually planning to visit the exposition.
Netherlands: A Dutch black girl with nappy hair was excluded from ballet class because she didn’t wore her hair in a smooth bun.
But a week ago the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission ruled, that a dance school may not force students with black hair to wear their hair in a smooth bun.
The mother of a 12-year-old girl filed a complaint with the Commission last year against a dance school in The Hague. The school has a rule that hair of dancers in classical ballet must be worn in a bun. The student in question has black hair and usually wears her hair in pigtails.
When the girl wanted to attend ballet class with her braided hair up in a bun, the dance school denied her access to the classes as long as she would not wear her hair in a smooth knot. According to the student and her mother it takes too much time to get black hair without braids in a knot. They offered to prepare the hair for performances and official events of the ballet school, but the dance school found it inadequate. They argued that other students with black hair did conform to the prescribed guidelines.
The dance school argued that no distinction is made on the basis of race, because the rule applies to everyone. But the Equal Treatment Commission ruled that the school indirectly does make the distinction, because having nappy hair (black hair) is associated with ethnic origin.
According to the hair website Kroeshaar.com the hairstyle on the photo is not allowed
The film Skin has finally made it to the Netherlands. Skin is of course the portrayal of the life of Sandra Laing, a dark skinned girl born to white (Afrikaan) parents in South Africa during the Apartheid era. With UK born actress Sophie Okonedo as Sandra Laing. In an interview Okonedo said that her upbringing was not too dissimilar to Laing’s. Okenedo is bi-racial Nigerian/Jewish.
Also read the interesting review of the film on shadow and act.
But now Amsterdam. On the blog of the film I read ‘Dutch Courage’. But why do you need courage to show this film? On shadow and act screenwriter and film critic Wendy Okoi-Obuli wrote:" You know who Okonedo is, right? Dirty Pretty Things, Hotel Rwanda, Aeon Flux, The Secret Life of Bees… as well as lots of TV and theatre roles under her belt. OK, so you may not like her entire body of work, you may not even like her acting style, but she’s an Oscar nominated actress; surely that’s enough to at least make her a bankable name, right? Not to most film distributors, it isn’t. “ Read the full story here
From September 11the till October 30th the film will be shown in Europen movie theatres. From October 30th it will be distributed in the US.
This is the black community in the Amsterdam and in New York, at least according to NY400 Holland on the Hudson.
This year Holland and the city of New York will celebrate 400 years of friendship. It's a one year celebration, but this week, 08 - 13 September, special Dutch events will be organised in New York to mark the event. For this special occasion there is an official website called NY400 to show the New Yorkers what Holland is all about. No tullips this time.
Of course, as a black guy from Holland, I was looking for some “diversity” on this site. I found it though, but it wasn't really what I was looking for.
The only black person I found was an image of black man lying on the street. He will be discussed on a Conference Urban Health “A Public Health Tale of Two Cities” Part 2. The intro states: "Big cities inhabit groups of marginalized people. The mental illnesses, addiction and health problems where they suffer from have an impact on the individual and society." Is this black Holland on the Hudson?
Amsterdam is the most multicultural city in the Netherlands and it seems that was the only "shared" thing they could find. Take it from me, you won’t find black people lying on the streets in Amsterdam. And is this the right image of the black community in New York?
But let's not spoil the party. Apart from this website, Holland is a great country to live in, and Amsterdam is the place to be. So If you are in New York, take that free Dutch bike ride and eat my most favourite cookie, stroopwafels. Have fun!
Joyce Sylvester (43) is acting mayor of the Dutch city of Naarden. She is the first black woman to serve as mayor in the Netherlands. Sylvester is born in Amsterdam and is of Surinam descent.
Since there is so much attention for Sandy Cane, the first black mayor in Italy who is also a member of the right-wing party Lega Nord, here is a Dutch black mayor who is a member of a party which can be compared with the labour Party in the UK and with the Democrats in the USA.
About being black and female she stated in an interview (Dutch). "Yes, I am a woman and I have a colour, so what? I have experienced no limitations because of that." But during her first position as acting mayor she saw that gender and colour did matter. "You notice the signals from the organisation. You can't escape the fact of being seen as role model." In 1992 Sylvester survived a serious train accident. Five passengers were killed. They all sat with Sylvester in the coupe. She was seriously injured, was held in coma, was operated on six times and the prospects were poor. Her political party leader Bos said: "You never hear her complain, the accident affected her considerably. Even years later her toes had to be broken to put them straight. She is literally a woman of iron."
On her website she writes about her impressive career: "I am acting Mayor of Naarden.
From October 31, 2008 to May 31, 2009 I was acting mayor of Anna Pavlovna.
Since 2003 I am also a member of the Dutch Senate (PVDA).
My portfolios are Economy, Agriculture and Finance. I am a member of the Committee on Petitions.
I am also housing commissioner of the housing association Alliance, member of the Amarantis school Advisory Board in Amsterdam, a member of the Delta Lloyd Advisory Board, member of a Board of Supervisors of the diversity counsil of the Dutch police, member of the Advisory Council for Microfinance Netherlands, supervisor at the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra and member of the Advisory Board of the Dutch Society for Industry and Commerce. I am the ambassador of d'ONS Foundation, the acronym stands for Sustainable Development Netherlands Surinam. Finally, and I am owner of Spirit organisatieadvies bv.
I started my career as a controller at the central FEZ Directorate of the Ministry of Transport. After I became adviser to the Mayor of Amsterdam I worked for Twynstra Gudde management consultants."
Sylvester earned a Masters degree in communication science and political science from the University of Amsterdam, and she holds a PhD from the Law Faculty of VU University Amsterdam.
Photo and copyright: My first Art collection My First Art Collection, next edition : a course for prospective art collectors in the Netherlands. So this is not about the Rembrandts and Vermeers.
Do black people collect art? The answer is: Yes they do. And the number of black people who are collecting art is growing.
Two years ago Ricardo Burgzorg started the training program My First Art Collection, where prospective art collectors could get acquainted with the ins and outs of the art world. Burgzorg bridges the gap between collectors and museums, but also guides beginning art collectors in the art world. My first Art Collection focuses on young native and new Dutch people. This season the programs in Amsterdam and Rotterdam have ended successfully. Due to the success, and the enthusiasm from all sides, the next course (2009 - 2010) will also start in The Hague. A year later, Arnhem and Groningen will follow. For more information go the website www.myfirstartcollection.com (Dutch)
On the site My first Art Collection there is an interesting video of art collecter and writer Judith Greer. In the video she visits the Frieze Art Fair in London (15-18 October 2009)
Judith Greer on Owning Art
“People come to collecting in different ways; I began nearly 20 years ago. My friends were artists, I started by buying early works. My relationship with art and artist is extremely important. But equally important are those with dealers, curators and other collectors. I read about art, I see endless exhibitions and still I'm learning.”
Judith Greer is co-author of Owning Art: The Contemporary Art Collector's Handbook, and chair of Artangel
My first piece of art was an big old photograph of a Carribean street in 1930. Now I am looking for a Gordon Parks orginal.
Photo and copyright: Linda Garrison (Arc de Triomphe) Summer news. We, a Dutch black-brown blogger couple, travelled to Paris by train from Amsterdam Central Station to Paris Gare du Nord. This train station is the busiest station in Europe, and one of the busiest railway stations in the world. The female blogger will write her own story on her Dutch Blog.
Most important travel choice. Taking the car was an option, but is was a four hour drive, stops not included. Driving in Paris wasn’t an option, because you have to be a Parisian to drive a car in Paris.
Most interesting train experience. On the Thalys fast train we met a Dutch Moroccan couple who were going to Paris to visit family. It appeared they only lived a few blocks away. What a coincidence!
Most worst metro experience. We had to jump out of a metro carriage into a dark metro tunnel. Everything went smootly when we took the metro to our destination, but when we took the metro back to the city the trouble started. While we were heading to Gare du Nord the metro suddenly stopped in the tunnel. It was a crowded metro on a hot summer's day. There was no message from the metro operator as to why we had stopped. After about ten minutes we heard people opening the door of the metro. And suddenly we found ourselves standing in the door opening of metro carriage, but without the station platform. We had to jump from the metro carriage into a dark subway tunnel. It was like jumping from the top of a bunk. After a two minute walk we saw the lights of the metro station Gare du Nord. It appeared the train was broke. I hate to say this, but this is so French.
Most interesting bus experience. When we arrived at Gare du Nord we took the city bus 42 to the Champs-Élysées. In the bus we met a Dutch Caribbean couple who were heading to the Eiffel Tower. They where in Paris for the second time, because they wanted to show an another family member the culture of Paris. Small world! We also talked to the French folks on the bus. Real city people. Always in for a small talk.
Most interesting black experience. You see black people everywhere. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that in the recent past black people in France were afraid of calling themselves black or “noirs”. Afraid of not conforming to the French principle that all people are French and equal. It was the French black organisation CRAN who activaly began adressing the issue that visible minorities in France faced discrimination. The front man, Patrick lozes wrote the book 'Nous, Les Noirs de France'(We, the blacks of France').
Last ethnic detail. Two black people in the metro were calling us 'Caribe'. Some people are always trying to label you.
Most interesting city experience. Of course we got lost in Paris. So we asked a bus driver which bus we had to take to Gare du Nord. He first pointed us to a bus station in a nearby street, but while we were walking towards the bus station we heard a yell. It was the bus driver. He had left his bus to tell us he knew a shorter route. Great guy. We waved at him as he drove by.
Most notable difference between Paris and Amsterdam. People in Paris ride scooters like people in Amsterdam ride bicycles.
Most favourite French author I was suddenly thinking of. Of course Alexandre Dumas, author of the The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. I still remember the moment when I found out he was black. Dumas was reburied in 2002 in the Panthéon of Paris, the great mausoleum where French luminaries are interred. Former French President Jacques Chirac acknowledged that racism was the reason why he hadn't been enshrined in the past. Dumas was the greatest.
Dumas reminded me of a video of a school trip of French children from an urban school. They were on a excursion to get to know the famous French author Honoré De Balzac. Interesting detail, the children are from the neighbourhood where the ethnic riots broke out.
The head of king Badu Bonsu II is officially back in Ghana. The Dutch minister of Foreign Afffairs, Maxime Verhagen, Ghanaian representative in The Netherlands Odoi-Anim and Ghanaian traditional leader Etsin Kofi II signed on 23 July in The Hague a declaration that eventually makes the head’s handover a fact. The great-great-grandson of Badu Bonsu II was also present. Aqua Fortis
The head was at the ministry of Foreign Affairs but was only public for guests from Ghana. Badu Bonsu II killed in 1838 two Dutch emissaries at the Gold Coast and was consequently hanged en decapitated. The head was kept and brought to the Netherlands. There it was put into aqua fortis to be preserved. According to Radio Voice of Africa this was for several people in Ghana a sensitive issue.
When the Ghanaian president Kufuor visited the Netherlands last year the issue was brought to the attention. ‘Everywhere in the world people give much importance to the way there forefathers are buried. In a way that cherishes their soul. We have to be able to say goodbye to those we honored when alive. We have to know that our forefathers can rest in peace’ said minister Verhagen at the ceremony.
The minister went on, "King Badu Bonsu II lived when the Dutch were controlling the trade posts of the Cold Coast. After his dead he became a symbol of these turbulent times. Our common past includes also the disgraceful slave trade, in which our traders were involved and which they sustained. We do not ignore this shared heritage.”
Attention In Ghana there was a lot of attention for this event. According to Radio Voice of Africa the handover ceremnoy had ben broadcasted live.
The Kwakoe festival in Amsterdam South East is moving towards it's final weekend (August 8-9). The Kwakoe Festival is Amsterdam's biggest multicultural festival and the main festive event of the Surinamese, the Dutch Antillean and the African community.
Kwakoe attracts thousands of visitors to the Bijlmerpark show ground over six summer weekends for a programme of live music, dancing, film screenings, sports, informative events, discussions and many varieties of ethnic food. A different theme is chosen each year and this is reflected in the music and performances. Increasingly popular, Kwakoe has drawn crowds of up to a million people in recent years.
Black Europe: Exploring Dimensions of Citizenship, Race and Ethnic Relations. June 13th-30th 2010 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
