Being black and keeping it real!

Black and white are not opposites. It is the social construct that expresses the norm vs. the anomaly. In the West the norm is white. White is just a physical feature though. To be white you just have to look white, that’s it. You can be white and rich, white and poor, white and smart, white and dumb, white and handy, white and lazy, white and sporty, … It doesn’t matter whether you are good or bad at football or dancing, whether you are better at math or are a good speaker. It doesn’t even matter what your favorite music style is. You are white because you look white.

Being black is unfortunately different. To be black you don’t just have to look black but you also have to ‘act black’. It means that you have to talk and walk a certain way. It means you listen to a certain kind of music. You should also be fond of sports and be good at dancing and singing. Then and only then you are ‘real black’. While white people can never be ‘fake whites’, blacks can be ‘fake blacks’.

If blacks do not answer to the criteria set for blackness they are not real. You become a bounty or an oreo. You may hear from white people things like: ‘Yeah, but you are different. You are not really black.’ But what does that mean? Why wouldn’t I be a real black person if I do look like a black person, if I am confronted with the same prejudices as other black people? Because I have a master’s degree and a good job? Because I know how to speak properly? Because I know how to be polite? Because I prefer rock music to hip hop and reggae? Because I don’t talk like blacks on TV?

It seems that if we do not act as a stereotype we lose our integrity, we even lose our identity. The worst is that blacks themselves keep this phenomenon alive. Blacks all over the Western world often expect their fellow blacks to ‘act black’, otherwise you are not authentic. Blacks use the bounty and oreo terms much more often than whites do, and we know it is meant as an insult.

White people do not have the same issue. You can talk and dance whatever way you like, you are still white. Nobody will say you are not really white. Even a wigger (a white person who dresses and talks like a rap gangsta) is and stays white. There isn’t any clear image of what a white person is supposed to be, or how whites are supposed to act in order to be ‘real whites’. Eminem is white and will stay white, but president Obama has to pass the realness test to be considered a brother (and apparently he succeeded very well at this).

Whites are therefore free to fill in their identity just the way they like (and just the way they are). This makes them stronger as it broadens their perspectives on personal success. This while blacks are confronted with stereotypes on which they have to test their authenticity. I don’t want to blame anyone for this social phenomenon, I just want blacks to reflect on this. And while I ponder on this I keep in mind Obama’s great words said during his short speech at the Democrat Convention in 2004: Eradicate the slander that says a black kid with a book is acting white!

Will Holland win the World Cup?

23rd JUNE 1988. European Championships Final. Holland 2 v USSR 0. Holland's captain Ruud Gullit
Will Holland win the World Cup? Somehow most of the Dutch critics believe Spain will win. One critic said: "Lets be honest, we aren't really that good."

Even Dutch legend Ruud Gullit had his doubts about this team. Ruud Gullit, who scored the opener in the 1988 European Championship final triumph against the USSR and also coined the phrase "sexy football", believes that to make an impact in South Africa, the Netherlands may have to sacrifice style for substance and abandon their traditional 'total football' approach.

"I have my doubts about whether Holland can win it, simply because we need to play well in all the games," he said. "The opposition seem to have sussed us out at the last few tournaments, which makes it difficult to play our game, but I hope we will do well. There is a great possibility to get through our group but it's going to be hard. I always hope that, when we get through our group, we can win games ugly - that would be a turning point." (source ESPN)

But although Spain has a great competition, they have never won the World Cup. It's fifty/fifty.

Jason lewis spoofs Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind"

The funny music video from BBC Comedy starring comedian Jason Lewis. Jason Lewis is Jay Z and Alicia Keys. Jason Lewis is not in an Empire State of Mind, but in a Big Ben State Of Mind. It's London!

Olufemi Terry wins Caine Prize 2010

This article is based on an article in The Guardian of Tuesday 6th of July 2010.

Sierra Leone's Olufemi Terry won the Cain Prize, known as the African Booker Prize, for his short story Stickfighting Days. The price is worth £10,000 and goes to a short story by an African writer published in English. Stickfighting Days tells the story of a group of boys who sniff glue and fight each other with sticks in a city rubbish dump
According to the chair of literary judges Fiammetta Rocco, the Economist's literary editor, "The execution of this story is so tight and the presentation so cinematic, it confirms Olufemi Terry as a talent with an enormous future."
Olufemi Terry was born in Sierra Leone but he’s a true Afropolitan. Terry grew up in Nigeria, the UK and the Cote d'Ivoire, studied in New York and lived in Kenya, Somalia and Uganda. He currently lives in Cape Town. As he explains to The Guardian, he tries to explore with his writing the issues of the African diaspora.

"Living in the diaspora, whether it's west or east, throws up a whole new set of challenges and questions which I don't feel have been properly explored or looked at," he said. "The label 'African writer' is not a particularly helpful one ... Whether it's journalism or fiction, there is too much emphasis put on issues such as poverty or disease, and I feel the label 'African writing' exacerbates that particular tendency. I would like to see more of a shift away from writing about Africa set on the continent, and more exploration of the issues of the diaspora."
Terry hopes the win will help him find a publisher for his first novel The Sum of All Losses, which he is about to complete. The Caine prize, awarded annually, includes among its patrons the African winners of the Nobel prize for literature Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer and JM Coetzee, as well as Chinua Achebe.

Read more in The Guardian

German Zoos displaying ‘Africa’ and Africans – again!

From Der Braune Mob: Once again German zoos are organising “Africa days” one of whose framework program includes African people as well as their presentations, art and culture, becoming part of a visit to the zoo!

Zoo Eberswalde:
Excerpt from the leaflet:

Enjoy African flair with spirited live music and dance performed by the band Odjadike and the Ballet Zebola from Congo.
(…)
This event is supposed to support the ethnic group of the San, the “last first people”, helping them to help themselves, in terms of a gentle integration into our modern age.

One would have thought that the case “African Village 2005” in Augsburg would have gotten about in this sector and would have led to a learning process. Back then a range of international (and German) protests arose;

however the event did get realised, braced by arguments (by the zoo director) as “otherwise ‘coloured people’ could not be shown in common sport events either” and that “the zoo” be “exactly … the right place” to “convey the atmosphere of exotic” and to make the “African culture” accessible for the inhabitants of Augsburg.

Back then one of the main ‘justifications’ was that the proceeds would benefit a ‘good cause’. As if this would not be possible through an event within an dignified frame, which does not link to the German history of brutal Völkerschauen (human zoos).

Read full story here

The miXed2010 Expo at Gentse Feesten 2010

During the festivities of the ‘Gentse Feesten’ (17/7-26/7/2010), a yearly 10 day music and theater festival in the city of Ghent, the miXed2010 association (website in Dutch & French) is planning an exhibition about racial identity. The exhibition contains work of black and white artists who question the concept of race through visuals, paintings, sculptures, video, installations, … The artists featured in the exhibition are Berni Searle (SA), Jean-François Boclé (F) and Gauthier Hubert (B) among others. The curator is the art critic Stef Van Bellingen who questions through this exhibition the way black people have been depicted during the whole history of Western media (commercials, Hollywood, TV, …).

(c) Gauthier Hubert

The exhibition will be opened on Friday 9th of July at 7pm, one week before the start of the Gentse Feesten and will be followed by a concert with European and African artist brought together by Tuur Florizoone. They will bring a musical show combined with visuals, telling a story of a white man who discovers his African roots (according to me a metaphor for the whole of European histroy and identity). World famous Belgian jazz artists like Laurent Blondiau (AKA Moon) en Nicolas Thys will be part of it, next to AfroBelgian singer Sabine Kabongo and polyphone vocal group Nabindibo next to African multi-instrumentalist and artist Aly Keita. You can see Sabine Kabongo performing Duke Ellingtons 'Come Sunday' with the Zawinul Syndicate via this link.

During the exhibition the documentary ‘Colour Bar’ will be screened all day long. This is a documentary of Roland Gunst, a video artist who describes his identity issues for a new generation raised in-between different cultures and racial colours. Below I post the little trailer for his documentary. It is currently only available in French though.

Diddy backs UK hip-hop invasion

The BBC reports that Rap star Diddy has said he believes British hip-hop is "on the verge of breaking" in the US charts.

The rapper, formerly known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy, has worked with UK acts Tinie Tempah, Chipmunk and Skepta.

"I've always been abreast and respected the UK hip-hop scene and I look forward to great things," he told BBC News. Read the full story here

(HT Mad News)

Tinie Tempah

Kwakoe Festival 2010 in Amsterdam (Jul 3 - Aug 8)

'Kwakoe' festival is a weekend event that takes place every Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 8pm, from July 3rd to August 8th in the Bijlmerpark in Amsterdam South East.

The festival is one of the biggest multicultural festivals in the Netherlands, and it's free.

From July till August it's weekends of pure dancing, eating and anything else in between. Wind down on a hot summers day with theatre, music, film, literature, sport and everything on offer at this very buzzing multicultural and family-oriented festival.

Calypso singer Mighty sparrow at kwakoe 2009


Website: www.kwakoefestival.nl

Carnaval Tropical de Paris 2010

The 9th edition of the "Carnaval Tropical de Paris 2010" will be weaving its way through streets of Paris on July 3th. The carnaval will start on 14:00h at the Place de la Nation.

Official website: Carnival Tropical de Paris 2010:
http://www.carnavaltropicaldeparis.fr

"Keti Koti" - Commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Amsterdam on July 1st

“Kinderen uit de Maasstad”: Surinamese children celebrating in traditional dress
Keti Koti (Breaking the Chains) is the annual celebration and commemoration (since 2002) of the abolition of slavery in the former Dutch colonies on July 1st. It will be celebrated in the City of Amsterdam in the Oosterpark on July 1st 2010.

With performances of Surinamese, Antillean en Dutch music groups, the Keti Koti festival will again contribute to the broadening of the celebration and commemoration of the abolition of slavery. After the resounding success of last year it is expected that the festival will attract more then 20,000 people.

A Native Surinamese and Creole group playing Creole music on Keti Koti 2009 in Amsterdam



The Keti Koti Festival begins with a large-scale parade, the “Bigi Spikri” ("Big Mirror"), with orchestras and brass bands. The parade starts at 12:00 from the Stopera (City Hall) and will end in the Ooster Park, where the national commemoration takes place at the National Slavery Monument.

Honoured guests will be Dutch Minister Andre Rouvoet, the Ministers Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, the ambassadors of Suriname, Ghana and South Africa and the mayor of Amsterdam.

Controversy
There is some controversy between the mayor black communities in the Netherlands about the commemoration date. For the Surinamese community the 1ste of July is also official commemoration day in Surinam, while for the Antillean community on the Dutch Antilles the official commemoration is held on August 17th. And also the name is different, on the Antilles it's called the " Tula commoration" and not "Keti Koti".

Links
Keti Koti: www.ketikotiamsterdam.nl
Ninsee - The National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy: (Dutch) www.ninsee.nl
(English) www.slavernijverleden.nl

Flamboyan dance group (Antillean)


The promo for 2010

The New Afro Belgian Generation: Three Belgian Artists of Congolese descent

Dr. Kwest. My Beat, My Life, My Congo EP (2010)

Today the RD of Congo celebrates its 50 years of independence. Many wonder if there is anything to celebrate at all. I won’t go deeper into that argument, we all know how difficult the last 5 centuries have been for Africa. It seems that the colonial, industrial, technological and economical successes of Europe and the West were all at a cost, fully paid by the black people of this planet.

But I'd rather draw the attention to something interesting that came out of this tragical history: a new generation of Belgian artists of Congolese descent creating refreshing music with roots in hip hop, electro and Africa.

Below I will tell you more about three fresh AfroBelgian producers and musicians: Baloji, Dr. Kwest and Esa Biyo



Baloji

The most famous one is Baloji, former rapper in the Belgian Hip Hop group Starflam. He came to live in Belgium as a 3 year old and grew up here. He says he is actually more European than African, a thing he realized when he traveled back to his motherland last year. Starflam was succesful in Belgium and France with tracks such as ‘Ce Plat Pays’ and ‘Amnesie International ‘ (feat. Zap Mama). But Baloji reached maturity with his second solo album (Kinshasa Succursale) released this year. He is now touring all over Europe with his Congolese band. He mixes hip hop and poetry with original African and Congolese sounds, always keeping in mind a deeper message to his music. Below I post a video of his latest single ‘Karibu ya Bintou’. This track features Konono nr. 1, a grouped based in Kinshasa that combines the traditional Likembe with electronics. You can find more on youtube on Konono nr. 1 and Baloji.



Dr. Kwest

Another artist you have to keep an eye on is mystery figure Dr. Kwest. Just like Baloji Dr. Kwest is of Congolese origin although he was raised in Belgium. Today Dr. Kwest is based in Brussels and mixes eclectic electronic hip hop soul with anything that fits with it. Dr. Kwest is a musical innovator who spoils his fans with regular mixes on mixcloud and produces instrumental music which is hard to define (I’ll give it a try with electronic soul noise hop …).

Especially for this 50 year of independence Dr. Kwest delivers an EP (My Beat, My Life, My Congo - 2010) with eccentric tracks that express very well the bitter aftertaste of this celebration while keeping in touch with the Congolese sound. I recommend you all to check this out on this link. You can also find mixes and productions by Dr. Kwest on mixcloud.com.

Esa Biyo

Last but not least I want to present you another AfroBelgian producer of Congolese origin: Esa Biyo. This producer opted for a mix of old skool Congolese rumba tracks and dub. Slowing down the Congolese Rumba Esa Biyo created a sad version of the famous rumba tracks produced in the 60’s and 70’s by famous artist like Rochereau, Franco & OK jazz, Mbelia Bel, … below I post a video for one of his latest productions, featuring footage from a documentary of the then Zaïre national footbalteam in the 70’s.

A Mute Belgian King visits Congo

King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Paola arrived in Congo yesterday. They are on an official visit for Congo’s 50 years of independence ceremony, tomorrow 30 June. Congo is a former Belgian colony and since independence both countries have kept a ‘special’ relationship. Still, it has been 25 years since the last official visit of a Belgian monarch in Congo. Last time it was King Baudoin who visited Congo when ruled by Mobutu. King Baudoin is also the king who handed independence to the Congolese in 1960, when then prime minister Lumumba made his (in)famous speech.

Kabila invited the Belgian King. This invitation stirred the opinion of Belgian politicians about Belgium’s relationship with Congo. Some thought the King shouldn’t go because Congo is still not a democratic country. Other thought he should go as this was an opportunity to reconfirm Belgium’s relationship with Congo, and to give a sign to the Congolese government about the things that should be done. But the King has decided for the middle: he will be at the ceremony but he will make no public statement.

Many among the Congolese people are disappointed about this. They think that a King’s statement could make a difference. Although Belgium is the former colonizer, to many Congolese the Belgians are still the ones who created Congo (even if it was a cruel and terrible creation). Belgians in Congo are treated with respect, they are Congo’s uncles as the Congolese say themselves. To them the words of a King could have a heavy symbolic meaning. Therefore they hope that his words can change the hardship the Congolese masses are going through. But that is according to me wishful thinking. And besides, the King decided to say no more.



Relations between Belgium and Congo have been difficult lately. President Kabila chose to sign contracts with Chinese and Indian investors while the Belgians refused to invest as long as there were no more signs of democratic change. This is a complicated argument.

Kabila was elected democratically a few years ago. While I know that corruption and oppression still control much of Congolese life, and that the vast majority of Congolese live in too much poverty without education or health care, I also see and hear that things are changing (a bit). Roads are rebuild (by Chinese contractors though) and parliament has never spoken so freely about the things the government should do better or does wrong. Still, last week the most important human rights activist, Floribert Chebeya, was killed in very suspicious circumstances and this is just one murder among others.

It is hard to judge Kabila now, I wonder sometimes how much he himself controls the situation or that he gets manipulated by the powerful people around him, much of whom or former Mobutu collaborators. I just wonder how he will handle the next elections. Joseph Kabila is not his father and not Mobutu. He is much calmer and controlled. He keeps on the background while it is he who has the final say about important decisions, or so I think.

Next to the Belgian King there will be many other head of states tomorrow in Kinshasa. Most notably: Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan president Paul Kagame. They were both enemies during the Congolese wars (1998-2003) as they supported rebel groups in Congo against the Congolese army. But relationships between Congo and these countries has been smoothed out recently as they fight together now against the ‘bad guys’ (the rebels). My cousin who lives and works in Eastern Congo assures me that it hasn’t been so peaceful in many years. Still, army troops with guns but no salary is a dangerous feat. And last but not least, Mugabe, president of what is left of Zimbabwe, will ‘honor’ the ceremony with his presence.

Below a videoshoot of King Albert II's arrival in Kinshasa - No Comment

AfroGerman week: Noah Sow - Author, singer and activist

Noah Sow is the author of the book "Deutschland Schwarz weiss - der alltägliche Rassismus" ("Deutschland Black & white. Everyday Racism"). And front woman of her Punk Rock band NOISEAUX . And she is also the founder of the anti-racist media watch dog "Der Braune mob". And if that's not enough she also appears on television as a moderator.

In an interview she talks about the media watch dog and the racial issues in Germany. "Der braune mob is Germany's first and as far as I know only media watchdog that's concerned with issues of discriminatory and politically incorrect language, content or pictures, mainly in media and advertising. Our focus lies on educating about what public racial discrimination actually is.

We have a lot to do, as Germany is a developing country in terms of racism. Most of the time the newspapers don't even know that for example referring to Obama as 'the coloured candidate' is wrong, so when we write to them they argue a lot. Plus, in Germany, the word racism is taboo.

If you accuse someone of having used a racist expression, they will deny that it's racist even when the term the N-Word is said."

Music
The Punk Rock band NOISEAUX


Book
In the book Deutschland Black & white she write about racism, but not about being black in Germany. "My book isn't about being black," explains Sow in an interview. "It's a mix between humour, education, how racism was 'invented' and what it serves for. It also about structural racism, like in sports, government, police and media. And its about modern and new racist strategies and how to beat them, and also - what I thought was very important - ideas how to help end racism, for the future.

So it's not a book about being black. Actually it's almost the opposite. It's about the role of whiteness in perpetuating racism. Can be used for self-medication. From the feedback so far, white readers learned something new about themselves and black readers had a good time with the humour chapters, like 'List of stupid phrases we never want to hear again - and according answers."

Although the book is written in German, there is a interesting English section with large outline of her book, and her 'List of stupid phrases'. One of those stupid phrases is "I cannot be a racist, I have a Black wife / Black children.” See her website for the answer here.

Read full interview here: here.

Links
Website: www.noahsow.de
Website Media Organisation www.derbraunemob.de
Website book Deutschland Schwarz Weiss (Ger) http://deutschlandschwarzweiss.de/en/index.html