Black Europe Summer School - June 13th-30th 2010 in Amsterdam

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.

Black Peter deblackfaced (Netherlands)

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

See more information on black Pete here

Black journalist Tuyala: Reporter posing as a black man is a good idea (Germany)

Journalist Kani Tuyala was interviewed in a German news program about the film of German reporter Günter Wallraff, the film where Walfraff wanted to see what it’s like living as black man in Germany.

In the interview Tuyala says: I find the film a very good idea. I shows that this problem still exits. Racism in German is not being addressed, not even in the media.

Before the interview a shot is shown where Walraff wants to get into a disco in Rosendahl. He asks the doorman: “I want to go to the disco, why don’t let me in?” The doorman replies: “Africa is for Africa, Europe is for whites.”

Interesting detail. The interviewer says: “We as a German society are know for our “Weltoffenheit”. Weltoffenheit is a German concept that is meant to symbolise inclusiveness, multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. I can only say: let others be the judge of that!

See the interview (video) on Kanis Blog (German)

Mounia, France's black supermodel elavated to ranks of Knight of the Order of Merit

Photo and copyright: Régis Durand de Girard: Marie-Luce Penchard & Mounia
Mounia, the first black supermodel from France, has been honored by the French government and elevated to the ranks of Knight of the Order of Merit (Chevalier de l’Ordre de Mérite). She was awarded the honor on November 23th at the Ministery of the Overseas Territories in Paris.

In the name of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Marie-Luce Penchard (current Minister of Overseas Territories) described the model as she who had pushed the greatest grand couturiers to “rupture with aesthetique codes in vigor” of the time in order to include black women in their vision of elegance, sophistication and fashion.

The American magazine, Essence Magazine, in 2005, placed her among the most famous black personalities. Her award was welcomed by the minister as a "tribute to the tenacity and fortitude of black women".

Read a full story at Fashion Insider
See the pictures of the reception at Fxgpariscaraibe

Singer Heavy C: When a woman gets tired of a man

What are the Afro-Portuguese listing at the moment? One of the popular R&B stars is Heavy C, a singer/song writer from Angola. Being black and Portuguese means having a close connection with at least one of the former Portuguese colonies: Mozambique, Angola or the Cape Verde .

Zouk and Kizomba are seen as mainstream black Portuguese music, but R&B music is also part of the music scene. This song of singer Heavy C, called “Quando a mulher se cansa HD” or “When a woman gets tired” is from his latest album Nao Largo o Amor.

Adé Bantu: rapping about the Afro-German identity

What is it like being black in Germany? "It's like being with a woman who you love, but who doesn't give you any attention," says the Nigerian/German musician Adé Bantu in an interview with qantara.

"Whenever Germany rejected me", he continues, "or gave me the feeling I don't belong here, and Germany has done that more than once, then I've said – phhhhfff. Then you say to yourself – hey, I'm not ugly, I'm not stupid and my heart's in the right place. That means there must be someone else out there who loves me. And I had that someone: Nigeria."

Adé Bantu is a musician and an activist. Back in 1994, he made the video and the song "Afro German", Adé was rapping about the Afro-German identity as a member of the hip-hop group "Weep not Child", and taking part in demonstrations against right-wing radicalism.

The video "Weep not Child" (1994) deals with not being accepted as a German.


When Neo Nazis in Dessau murdered 39-year-old Alberto Adriano from Mozambique in June 2000, Adé called all Afro-German artists in Cologne together "to finally break the silence." Soon after the The Brothers Keepers were born: a merger of mainly Afro-German soul, hip-hop and reggae artists, who fight against racism and right-wing extremism.

The clip "Bereit" (2005) deals with wanting to take on the fight against racism.


The Brothers Keepers is not just a musical project, but also a charitable association to which more than 90 artists now belong, among them numerous well-known musicians such as Samy Deluxe, Afrob, D-Flame, Toni L., Torch, Tyron Ricketts, Don Abi, Patrice, Xavier Naidoo, and many others.

Read the full interview here

Interesting detail. He co-directed Nigerian-German hip hop/soul singer Nneka's video "Africans".

Le festival Vibrations Caraïbes 2009 - Paris (4-13 December)

From 4 to 13 December 2009 the Caribbean Vibrations Festival (Le festival Vibrations Caraïbes), Festival of Contemporary Arts of the Americas and the Caribbean island will have its next edition in Paris. A festival with dialogues between the islands and the continents, at the Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris

For 2009, the theme of Caribbean Vibrations Festival is “AfricAméricA”. Which will be a mix of artists from the three continents, Africa, America, Europe. With Gwo ka Gnawa Jazz, Dub Poetry, Pop Folk Caribbean Creole, literary readings, photography and video art, and screenings of ethnographic documentaries in partnership with ARTE.

Featured artists: Randy Weston, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Karim Ziad, Kali feat. Manu Dibango, Dede St Prix Dub Poets and Brother Resistance and Mutabaruka, Orlando Poleo, Herve Samb and Simone Schwarz-Bart.

This year’s special guest will be singer/song writer Valerie Louri, from Martinique.

Maison des Cultures du Monde/ Fondation Alliance française 101 Blvd Raspail Paris 6ème. www.vibrationscaraibes.com

Author Chimamanda Adichie on why we need black stories

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

It's one the most compelling talks I have seen in years. It’s the talk of Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie (32) who talks about the danger of a single story. One of the single stories is the story of the one sided view of Africa. Africa as a place of war, poverty and aids. But she doesn’t only talks about the ‘West’ versus Africa, she also talks about her own single view of a boy who worked at her home. Her parents told he was poor, and she always saw him as poor boy. But it turned out she was also trapped in that single story of the poor boy.

She also explains why we need black authors.

Although she seems somewhat nervous, she tells her story like an exciting book. She held her TED talk on july 2009 in Oxford

Not Black and White: Three black London Theatre makers

An interesting story about three black theatre makers in London. Kwame Kwei-Armah(left) wrote the play 'Seize The Day'.

Artistic director Nicolas Kent describes the Tricycle Theatre's new trilogy, Not Black and White, as a “stock-take” of multicultural Britain.

He gave three writers — Roy Williams (right), Kwame Kwei-Armah (left) and Bola Agbaje (middle), all London-based — free rein to choose their themes; respectively, the prison service, politics and immigration.

“Here we are in a culturally diverse capital and yet we seem to have very few black people involved in the governance of it; there's a power deficit for black and Asian people,” Kent says. “This seemed a good time to do an audit of cosmopolitan London and British society and I thought it would be good to take three leading black playwrights to open up the debate. Kwame and Roy [who are both in their early forties] are probably the two most senior black writers today and Bola [28] is a very interesting new voice.

“I think people like big ideas and these are three writers at the top of their game. What they don't do is reference white society, or place black people in relation to it, and certainly not in an oppositional way, as so many black writers feel they have to. They are much more about black people's relationships with each other. We're looking at things in a more mature way — at the shifts in society that move us away from simple black/white debates.”

Under Kent, for the past 25 years, the small but influential Tricycle in Kilburn has not only altered the landscape of British theatre but has also helped change how the Establishment operates. The theatre has pioneered verbatim work with its tribunal plays about enquiries into events such as Bloody Sunday, arms sales to Iraq and the Srebrenica massacre. Their Stephen Lawrence drama, The Colour of Justice (1999), is now used by a number of British police forces to educate officers about institutionalised racism. Read the full story here

THEATRE: Seize The Day by Kwame Kwei-Armah - London

“The symbolism of having a Black mayor! A city of 45% colour, should have a mayor of colour don’t you think?”

Jeremy Charles has got the face to represent it – a well-spoken, good-looking Londoner, with an appetite for change: yes he can! He’s sold his pitch on reality TV, but can he be the real people’s candidate?

Kwame Kwei-Armah has had a great idea for a play: the pressures on an African-Caribbean contender for the office of London's mayor. And, as the second show in the Tricycle's Not Black and White season, it goes down a storm with its audience and raises a host of issues: too many, in fact, for a play that basically offers a plausible portrait of metropolitan realpolitik.

Seize the Day Tricycle, London Until 19 December.

For more information: The Tricycle

SADE's new album: “SOLDIER OF LOVE” – 8th FEBRUARY 2010

Release "Soldier of Love" worlwide on February 8th. Soldier of Love marks Sade's first new studion album since the multi-platinum Lover Rock.

The wait is now over. Epic Records is pleased to announce the release of Soldier of Love, the highly anticipated new body of work from SADE. Soldier of Love – which will be released worldwide on February 8, 2010 - is Sade’s first official studio album since the multi-platinum release of Lovers Rock in 2000.

Soldier of Love was recorded in England and produced by the band and their longtime collaborator Mike Pela.

Visit: Official site

Harry Roselmack’s new TV show: reporting from the French ghettos

Harry Roselmack will present the TV program “derrière les murs de la cité” (behind the walls of the city). The most popular French journalist, according to a recent small survey, will plunge himself in the troubled French suburbs for a full month.

The concept is English: a journalist will take part and submerge himself in the daily live of a community. For the BBC it’s Louis Theroux, who is best known for his Gonzo style journalism, which is a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories.

Roselmack’s program will cover the daily live in the French suburbs. He will first visit the Paris suburb Villiers-le-Bel, the place where the riots started in November 2007. Through the testimonies of the residents, he will will attempt to decipher the functioning of a notoriously difficult city.



Rémi Pernelet, editor-in-Chief of TV 1, is thrilled: "This show will find its public because it provides a different look at life in the suburbs." It will be a success."

The program will be aired by the commercial station TV1, starting on 24 November.

I hope Roselmack will make a program that will change the perspective about people of the 'banlieues'. I don't hope he will become the new black Louis Theroux. That would just make the program look like an urban safari tour.

The film La Haine (The hate) of 1995 had to be a the wake up call!

TV/Social Media: New lives (Nouvelles vies) – Eight people decided to change their life (France)

New Lives is the new French TV and social media reality show on RFO. Eight people who live in, or have roots in the overseas French territories embark on a journey to change their lives by following their dreams. The show is aired on TV, but people can also participate by posting advice on the social media site. Go to Nouvelles Vies (New Lives) here



See the profile videos here

The profiles:

Corinne, originally from Martinique, is a professional dancer. Her specialty is the limbo. She is the mother of 3 boys. At 40 she dreams of starting a dance school. New Lives proposed to accompany her with the steps she undertook, supported by her relatives. Corinne was one of the singers of the eighties disco group Bony M.

Dominique (Guadeloupe) made her living as financial advisor, and is is 30 years old. She has lived all her youth in the Paris, but has decided to leave everything behind to start a new live from scratch on Guadeloupe. Is she not going to miss the city?

Gwénaelle, 18, arrived in Fort-de-France and entered the prestigious school 'école de Sciences-Po Paris'. A real change of life for this young girl who has left her family and friends, and is preparing for a difficult course. The show follows her career, and her first few weeks of adjustment in the capital Paris.

Samuel , 31, lives in Réunion. He practices organic farming and wants to share his beliefs with other farmers in the region. He is preparing to organise the first eco festival of Réunion. His wife will take the opportunity to give bio cooking classes. We'll see if this pair manages to pass on this new lifestyle.

Nathalie is an expectant mother of twins and her life is not easy. This Martiniquaise 33 years will become a single mother, but she must find a new home, repair her car and organize her life. Preparing for the childbirth, and to her new life as a mother, we follow the change of life.

Audrey, 31, originally from Martinique, dropped her job as legal officer and wants to start a new career in producing films. But the path to the cinema is full of pitfalls.

Fabrice (Réunion) is a foreman in a garage during week and skipper in the weekend: his dream is to participate in the sailing contest Round Créolia. He must train and find a teammate, but parallel to its preparation, he was to inherit a land where he plans to mount lodgings. Arrive there at any juggle? Will he participate in the race?

Tiya earns his living by making Theatre and film costumes, but wants to record an album and pursue a singing career. She has already filmed the first clip and tries to make a name for herself.

For more information see: fxgpariscaraibe (French)