Celia Cruz & The Fania All Stars - Quimbara - Zaire, Africa 1974

It was definitely a black history moment. Zaire ’74, a three-day music festival of American soul alongside African music, headlined by James Brown and filmed by the same crew that was in Zaire for the historical fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire (now Congo).

Portugal is race blind, but not for the right reasons

Portuguese prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho accompanied by his wife, their daughter (in his arms) and his stepdaughter (right)

Some would like to think race is not an issue in Portugal, but by failing to collect data we are burying our heads in the sand, writes Joana Gorjão Henriques in The Guardian (2011). The recently appointed prime minister, the conservative Pedro Passos Coelho, is married to a black woman. Will that make him more sensitive to questions around race?

Video: A tribute to Afro-German poet May Ayim

A great tribute by Ani Ekpenyoung to Afro-German poet May Ayim, one a year after her death in 1996. If you want to skip the intro, start at 1:45.

BHM UK: Black people in classical music from past to present

Photo of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - A centennial celebration

Classical music is the popular art music from the classical period, so of course also black people gave it a try. And with success. Because it's still BHM in the UK, a look at some of the European stars of past and present.

Video: UK's Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy (1991)

"Unfinished Sympathy" is a song by English electronica group Massive Attack from their debut album Blue Lines (1991), with Shara Nelson walking and singing and the band members walking and riding behind her.

Golden film Award for Dutch film Only Decent People + Debate

The Dutch controversial film Only Decent People by director Lodewijk Crijns has reached the status of Golden Film. Since its release on Thursday 11 October,  more than 100.000 visitors have seen the film, according Entertainment Business.

Blackface and Whiteface in German theatre

White actors playing black illegal immigrants Elisio and Fadoul in play Unschuld

The protest against the use of Blackface in German theatre productions was a hot topic last year. But due to the protest of the German activist group Bühnewatch, the involvement of the Afro-german theatre group Label Noir and other activist groups, the use of Blackface in German theatres has perhaps come to an end. But it appears a creative approach to blackfacing has been found, "Whitefacing".

Les Afro'péros in Brussels. A Succesful Initiative by and for the Afro Diaspora

Les Afro'péros is a Non-Profit Organization based in Paris and Brussels. They've been succesfully active since last year in Brussels and gather people from the African and Afro-Caribbean diaspora to share their experiences.

Black man and woman in 16th century drawing come to life in film of John Akomfrah

British filmmaker John Akomfrah imagines the lives of a black man and woman who appear in a sixteenth-century drawing by German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer. In an exhibition which runs from 5 October - 8 November 2012 in London he makes them come to life.

Scandinavian soul: David Jay & Awa Manneh & Aisha

Danish singer David Jay (born and raised in Copenhagen Denmark) released the first music video from the new EP “Evil Cirle” a week ago. The video “4 A Minute” is recorded in London by ANP Media.

Special report: An embarrassing Black Spanish Youth Day in Madrid

Our man in Madrid visited the highly anticipated event, The Black Spanish Youth Day in Madrid on 19 October. On the flyer it was billed as a hip-hop event where young cats could also express their daily struggles. But it turned out differently. The event was poorly organised and a one man show, youth were not found in the vicinity and our reporter was even ordered to sit down (which of course he refused).

Video: Germany in Black and White - An interracial couple and prejudice

Via: Black Germans
In the short film Germany in Black and White (2011) a mixed couple is discussing what actually is German. The German man, who is full of prejudice, talks with his wife about people he feels are different than Germans. 

Tintin racism row puts spotlight on Sweden's own racial history

A debate about historical racist stereotypes and colonial traces in children's literature was a hot topic in Sweden last month.  The removal of Tintin books from a children section because of colonial stereotypes caused a heated debate in the press and on the internet. The discussion about the Swedish children's film Little Pink and the Motley Crew also caused a stir.