Is Amsterdam Bijlmer turning into a ghetto?

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 …

Black music history: Des’ree It’s Oke (UK 2003)

Since it is 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. It 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.

Generation Next: Young black men in the media (UK)

A foundation that aims to empower urban young people in the UK has made a documentary about how young black men are portrayed in the media.

The Generation Next Foundation has produced the film to mark Black History Month.

The Lambeth-based foundation was set up by two brothers - Hamdi and Ludvig Bonin - and aims to drive positive social change to help young people achieve their potential.

The film, called Minority Report, will be screened at City Hall on Friday, followed by a panel discussion with Conservative London Assembly Member James Cleverly, the Mayor's ambassador for young people, and Chuka Umunna, Labour's candidate for the Streatham seat at the next election, who is also a trustee of the Generation Next Foundation. Read press release

The Generation Next Foundation is a non profit organization that was formed in 2008. The Generation Next Foundation has been founded to provide opportunities for the youth within our community. We believe that it is imperative to empower the youth in society so they have the tools to achieve their highest potential.

http://www.gnextfoundation.co.uk/

Black History: Black European nobility tucked away

Black nobility in Europe? According to black Dutch researcher Egmond Codfried and author of the book "Belle van Zuylen's forgotten grandmother" there was black nobility in Europe, but there history and images were later carefully tucked away. His claims are controversial, and of course not accepted by European historians and the man in the street.

Codfried has systematically studied hundreds of paintings of famous and less famous nobility. He regularly stumbled upon people who looked black or coloured, or although they were white, clearly had African facial features.

About his work he writes: “This study of historical sources and literature on black and coloured historic persons was inspired by the chance finding of a portrait of Maria Jacoba van Goor (portraited in the picture). We get a view of the problems and of the methods to identify these Europeans. This beautiful painting was also a reason to cast an afrocentric view at Belle van Zuylens life and her works, the biographies en the origin of her financial fortune. Through her coloured grandmother, the Dutch Belle van Zuylen (1740-1805) also known as Madame de Charrière, joins the rank of writers as the Russian Alexander Pushkin, the French Alexander Dumas and Colette, the Britons Elizabeth Barrett and her husband Robert Browning. As well as the German classic composer Ludwig von Beethoven and Queen Charlotte of Britain. These are Europeans of great merit, who had black forefathers. Also we find that Belle was a friend of Pierre Alexander Du Peyrou (1729-1794), a brown coloured and wealthy Surinam plantation owner in Swiss. He is renowned as a close friend, benefactor and publisher of the most famous philosopher of the Enlightenment, Jean Jaques Rousseau.

Black Star: the African Presence in Early Europe

The reason why he studies nobility has to with the fact that nobility has left traces in the form of portraits and writings.

Some of his claims

Queen Charlotte Sophie of Mecklenburg Strelitz (1744-1818), Wife of George III

Described by others in her time as 'a true mulatto face' , ' brown' or ' yellow.' Her nose is to wide and her mouth shows the same fault.













Maurits Huygens (painted by Rembrandt in 1632) the older brother of Constantijn Huygens. Constantijn was one the most famous poets in the Golden Century.












The way black people were portraited

A painting of the French-Swiss painter Liotard (1702-1789) "Portrait of a young woman". Liotard is also considered coloured by Codfried.













A Moor by Juriaen of Streeck (1619-1673). Most people do not realize how many pictures exist of Moors in Europe. Why the love of Moors? Names, family crests, geographical indications, all references to the Moor, according to Codfried.

On the forum someone writes, that this is a picture of a servant.








As a response Codfried writes: "Part of the Moritzburg Treasure (Renaissance), , with a gold and silver cup in the form of a Moor's head, which was used at high nobilty marriages. Why Moor's head? The Moor was apparently in high regard."











PORTRAIT OF AN AFRICAN MAN January Mostaert (ca.1474-Haarlem Haarlem 1552/1553) Ca. 1520-1530. A unique 16th-century portrait

A painting of a black African in European clothing - with sword - portrayed as a Habsburg-Burgondian nobleman from that period. The self-conscious attitude, clothes and rich attributes demonstrate a successful assimilation of this man within the cultural norms of the European Renaissance. (Research lab Black is beautiful Dutch)

But, the research lab also writes, black Africans were in the 16th-century Europe rarely people of distinction. Most of them were imported as slaves in Spain and Portugal. A small number of them were released over the years, but most were employed as servant to their master. Only the Congo, which in the late 15th century was Christianized by the Portuguese, had a special status as a black kingdom of which the elite was educated in Portugal. Some Congolese made it as scholar, clerk, musician and jester quite far. Most remained employed in subordinate occupations. In the Netherlands, where the slave status was not recognized, negroes usually came along as servants of Spanish and Portuguese traders.


But why is it so important to show that black or coloured people were part of the European nobility? Codfried's motivation is to show that Europe was never as 'white' as we have been taught. Black people were always in Europe, even among the European nobility.

Looking at the portraits of those 16th and 17the century black people in Europe, I wonder what they would think of us now.
 
Links 

• Pictures of Black nobility
• Blue Blood Is Black Blood 
• First black head of a European state: Alessandro de Medici (Italy)

Update:  

• A Talk with Natou Pedro Sakombi author of " Blue Blood in black ink " (Orginal title "Du Sang Bleu à l'Encre Noire")

PostSecret

-----Email Message-----

Working as a teacher in the inner-city has rid me of my racism.

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people
mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. Go to http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Very interesting project. I think I will also mail my secret on a postcard, and I will also post up here as well.

And the MOBO winners 2009 are ...

The MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards took place yesterday (Sept 30th) at the SECC in Glasgow, Scotland.

According to Madnews, the organisers put on the best show in years.

But someone was pretty "pissed". Ex-Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland Kelly has called for an apology from MOBO organisers, claiming that her performance at the awards ceremony was affected by poor sound quality. (Digital spy)

And Nneka won the Best African Act. On the photo Yolanda Brown who won an award in the category Best Jazz.

LIST OF 2009 MOBO WINNERS
Best UK Act: N-Dubz
Best Newcomer: JLS
Best Song: 'Beat Again', JLS
Best Album: 'Uncle B', N-Dubz
Best DJ: Trevor Nelson
Best Hip Hop: Chipmunk
Best R&B: Keri Hilson
Best International: Beyonce
Best Video: 'Single Ladies', Beyonce
Best Reggae: Sean Paul
Best Jazz: Yolanda Brown
Best Gospel: Victizzle
Best African Act: Nneka

Celebrate Black History Month UK 2009

October is the Black History month in the UK. It was first celebrated in 1987 as part of the African Jubilee Year, the period from August 1987 to July 1988 designated to mark the centenary of the birth of Marcus Josiah Garvey; the 150th anniversary of emancipation in the Caribbean and the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Organization of African Unity. But now it's an event that is celebrated throughout the UK.

London
Blacks have been in London since 1555, though the first real influx in Britain came in the late 18th century in flights from the 13 colonies during the American Revolution. Prominent black British figures include John Blacke, a trumpeter to kings Henry VII and VIII, who about 1507 became the first black mentioned in royal records; Sir Ira Aldridge, England's first recognized black actor, famous for his role as Othello; John Richard Archer, a leader in London's Pan Africanist Movement, also the country's first British-born councilor and mayor in the early 1900s; and Marianne Jean Baptiste, who in 1996 became the first black British woman nominated for an Academy Award.

Black History Month website

Black history month in London 2009

Celebrate Black History Month in Newham (london)

StrangerFestival: Dutch videomakers sign up now!

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.

Dutch videomakers click here

Rama Yade the leader of France's Modern-Day Black Power Movement?

According to the US political blog Booker Rising French secretary Rama Yade (32) seemed to have said: "Some Folks Are Saying That I'm Leading France's Modern-Day Black Power Movement". Read the full story here

But the real news is that she will be in Washington this week, to attend the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference.

Short history. French President Sarkozy appointed Yade as the secretary of human rights and called her the French Condoleezza Rice. Rama Yade became, after the riots, Sarkozy’s television-friendly integration symbol during his presidential campaign. After the elections she became the only black and the youngest member of the French cabinet

But after a while Sarkozy asked her to run for the European Parliament, which she refused. After her refusal Sark became ‘disappointed’ in her and she was dropped. After a cabinet reshuffle she was appointed as the Secretary of State for Sports.

This week she will be in the US. The Washington post wrote: “The Yade act will be on tour this week in Washington, where aides said the young minister has been invited to attend the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference. President Obama is likely to attend, they added, inviting a comparison with the U.S. leader whose charisma, like Yade's, seems to eclipse racial considerations.”

But paper also stated that she still has to “transcend the role of Sarkozy's television-friendly integration symbol”. Read French Minister's Star Status Holds Political Promise

And maybe they are right, Rama Yade is still a symbol. I don’t doubt her commitment to the cause. In 2007 she wrote the book Noirs de France (Blacks in France) as a response about the way the French media reported the death of Afro-Caribbean people in a pension fire. Although people from the French Antilles are officially French citizens, in the newspapers they where portrayed as foreigners.

But most articles about Yade are about her appearance, not about her competence. And to be frank, it is easy to point a finger at the white establishment and yell: ‘there are no blacks in da house!’. Changes are she will become the French Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Or better, she will end up like Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ali became popular as politician in The Netherlands, but ended up as writer in the US.

So I hope that Yada will indeed transcend the role of Sarkozy's television-friendly integration symbol, and perhaps really become the leader of France's Modern-Day Black Power Movement.


See an interesting interview with Rama Yade

The Winners of the Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens 2009 (Afro-Caribbean Arts Awards)

Photo and copyright: Régis Durand de Girard
It's official now. The Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens 2009 (the French Caribbean Arts Awards) have been given to the winners. Most interesting detail, the theme of most winners is slavery or black history. Best clip, best essay and best documentary have a slavery theme, and best film fiction is a film about a true story of colonial French black history. So listen and see the best of Afro-France in 2009. Also read the read the report of fxgpariscaraibe (French) here


Music

ARTISTE DE L'ANNÉE (Artist of the year)
Davy Sicard
Origin: Réunion










MEILLEUR GROUPE(Best group)
Magic System - Origin Ivory Coast








MEILLEUR CLIP (Best clip): Kamnouze
Kamnouse ft Fanny J mon Irreel






RÉVÉLATION DE L'ANNÉE (Revelation of the Year)
Erik
Origin: Guadeloupe











MEILLEUR ALBUM (Best Album)
Inspiration information vol 3 - Mulatu Astatké
Origin: Ethiopia / Grande-Bretagne








Literature

MEILLEUR ROMAN (Best novel): Les Caracteres sexuels secondaires - Tania de Montaigne
The anti-depression novel crucial for moments when you're having the blues, according to ELLE magazine It's the 3rd novel by Tania de Montaigne. The book is about a woman who got married and then left. A woman who returns home to her mother and asks how to be a woman like everyone else.




MEILLEUR ESSAI (Best essay): La France a-te-elle Aboli l’esclavage? - Nelly Schmidt
1848 marked the end of slavery for “the country of the rights of Man;” however, upon reading Nelly Schmidt’s scrupulous historical exploration, the question remains: “La France a-t-elle aboli l’esclavage?” [Did France abolish slavery?] or did it discretely pursue colonial politics in such a way as to secure a reservoir of cheap manpower and the control of overseas economy? In 1848, when France abolished slavery for the second time in its history, new colonial policies were set into place opening access to citizenship in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guiana. Nevertheless, one century later, in the midst of social and economic disaster, the conditions of the “nouveaux libres” were not much different from the previous. Why?

Film

MEILLEURE FICTION (Best fiction): Aliker - Guy Deslauriers
Aliker, a new film by Guy Deslauriers, narrates the story of André Aliker, the Martinican journalist assassinated in 1934. The film is based on a script by Martinican novelist Patrick Chamoiseau.

André Aliker, a communist militant who wrote for Justice, the newspaper of the Martinican Communist Party, became widely known throughout the island as a champion of journalism as a form of free expression and as the means for the pursuit of the truth in the colonial context of Martinique in the 1930s. This commitment to free journalistic practice would cost him his life. The film, critics have said, shows what can be accomplished by a Creole film industry without access to the usual big budgets available in the industry. Read full story here




MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE(Best documentary)
Le pays à l’envers - Sylvaine Dampierre
Filmmaker Sylvaine Dampierre goes in search of her roots and personal history. Along the way, she intends to find the origin of her surname

Joseph Dunoyer and his Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens

France: Tonight the Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens will be held for the fourth time, but before the event François-Xavier Guillerm of FXG interviewed Guadeloupian Joseph Dunoyer, director general of Afro-Caribbean Arts Awards.

Dunoyer feels good about this year. “A year older, means one year more experience, and when you look at the progress since 23 October 2006, the picture is very positive despite the different waves that we have met during our crusade! “

Dunyor emphasis the location. “ The event will held at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris, a mythical place in the capital and in the French culture.”

Personalities that could give greater visibility to the award ceremony will attend the event. Dunoyer: “ Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterrand, Teddy Riner World champion in judo, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, Patricia Renel, a Caribbean artist who has exhibited in over 47 countries, Sebastien Follin, Willian Galas Sonia Rolland, Antonhy Kavanagh, Omar, Jean-Marc Thibaudier, host of Tele Guadeloupe, Fany J, the revelation of last year, Jacques Martial, Aissa Maiga and many others! For them it is an honour to participate in an event of this size in France.

But the award ceremony also has a deeper meaning. The famous French poet Aimé Césaire told Dunoyer that this event has everything to brotherhood.

Read the interview with Dunoyer on the blog fxgpariscaraibe (French).
(Photo and copyright: Régis Durand de Girard)

Afro-Punk: Debut album NOISEAUX – “Out Now” released today

The Afro-Punk band NOISEAUX has released its debut album NOISEAUX – “Out Now” today. The band of German media personality and writer Noah Sow will according to the record label inject Germany with the growing Afro-Punk wave from the USA and England.

About NOISEAUX The Hamburger Abenddblatt wrote: "But that a black singer is reacting to propulsive guitars and crunchy beats, is not the only characteristic of the quintet. The background of the band moves between Korea, the Philippines, Germany, Mexico, France and Senegal.”

The songs are about freedom, politics and racism. In the song “Keine Kommentare“ , which means “No comment”, Sow sings about the prejudice in Germany, “You think you’re normal .. No comment about my hair.” The Hamburger paper called it the short version of Noah Sow’s book “Deutschland Schwarz Weiß” (Deutschland Black & white. Everyday Racism' )

The CD is released in a German and English

Go to:
http://www.noiseaux.com
http://www.noahsow.de

Kréyol Day 2009 in London

Live performances, traditional craft and food stands and debates will mark the 8th edition of the Creole Day (“Kreyol Day”) on Sunday 27 September 2009

Saint Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Reunion Island, Guyana, Haiti, Cuba, Cape Verde, Mauritius...

London, September 15th, 2009 – A unique event in the UK, the 8th Creole Day (“Kreyol Day”) will bring together in one place live performances by Creole artists, traditional craft and food stands, and a conference, all representing the diversity of the Creole culture around the world.

The event will be a special day of celebration and entertainment for the whole family, inviting visitors to discover and enjoy the Creole world. More than 1,000 visitors will be expected at this year’s Kreyol Day, which will take place at the Conway Hall, in Holborn, London.

Organised by the French Caribbean Association Menm Biten Menm Bagay (MBMB), the UK charity promoting cultural sharing and solidarity between Creole communities, the Kreyol Day will kick start in style the Black History Month (more here). With famous traditional Caribbean singer Dédé Saint Prix (view video here) as its patron, the Kreyol Day will bring together more than 10 Creole regions, taking visitors on a day-trip full of colours, sounds, flavours, and fragrances from several corners of the Creole world.

This year’s programme will bring together famous as well rising performers, traditional craft exhibitors and expert speakers.

- Creole performers:
. Singers, including a performance by the undisputed queen of Zouk Love Sonia Dersion (view video here); also performing: Subajah (Reggae, Dancehall), Frenglish connexion (Hip-Hop, Reggae. Dancehall), Sked Swad (Creole hip hop), JM (Dancehall)
. Traditional Creole music and dance groups such as ZilOKa (view video here);
. Salsa performance (London Salsa Scene);
. Poetry (Novitse).

About Creole Cultures
Creole cultures are a vibrant mix of African heritage with European influences. The Creole world is spread between 3 main regions: the Caribbean, North and South America, and the coast of Africa by the Indian Ocean region.
With an estimated 800,000 people from these regions living in the UK, the Creole communities contribute dynamically to the UK’s diversity.

Entrance Fee (Booking available on www.mbmbcharity.com):
- MBMB Members: £5
- Advanced booking: £7
- At the door: £9
- Students (at the door): £7
- Children under 10: free