African Americans in Denmark: A conversation with Scholar Ethelene Whitmire

Ethelene Whitmire in Kerteminde, Denmark in June 2015 visiting the town
where painter William Henry Johnson lived and painted in the 1930s

When we think about African Americans and Europe, it is James Baldwin and Josephine Baker which often pop up--with Paris being the usual destination. One of the lesser known destinations however, has been Copenhagen. This small Scandinavian city has historically played a large role in the lives of many African American Artists. Figures such as writers Cecil Brown and Nella Larsen, Jazz musicians such as Ben Webster all had some connection to Copenhagen,  and this is exactly what Prof. Ethelene Whitmire from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library & Information Studies, Affiliate: Afro-American Studies, Scandinavian Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies will explore in her upcoming study. Whitmire, who recently was awarded funding by the American-Scandinavian Foundation, will examine experiences of African Americans who studied, visited, lived and performed in Denmark during the 20^th century. Educators, painters, social workers, writers, singers, jazz musicians among many others were drawn to this Scandinavian country. While many have written about the experiences of African Americans in France, the experiences of African Americans in Denmark has remained unexplored. Her project will attempt to answer two questions: Why did African Americans go to Denmark? and What were their experiences as African Americans in Denmark?

BGOM:  Ethelene, you seem to have a fascination with Copenhagen, Denmark. Can you tell us a bit about this? 

EW: I first visited Copenhagen in May and June 2010 on a whim. I was writing my first book and on a sabbatical from my job. I wanted to travel and live abroad for longer than a brief vacation. I selected Denmark because I was watching a lot of Danish films at the time. I came here without ever having visited before and knowing no one and had a wonderful time. I met some really interesting people during my initial visit and I’ve kept coming back every year ever since.

    

     BGOM: You’ve published a book. What is the title and what is it about? Why did you choose this particular topic to write about? 

     EW: My first book is Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian. It’s about the first African American librarian to head her own branch of the New York Public Library. She was also a part of the Harlem Renaissance as an actress, playwright and one of the founders of the Harlem Experimental Theatre. She co-hosted a salon during the Harlem Renaissance where she invited the scholars and artists she encountered as a librarian at the 135th Street Library Branch in Harlem. I did not train to be a historian but when I heard about Andrews’ story I wanted to write her biography. I wanted her story to be told. That project fueled my interest in African American history that has influenced my interest in this new project about African Americans in Denmark. Some people are already well-known like Booker T. Washington who dined with the King and Queen of Denmark in 1910. Others have been lost to history like the husband and wife dance duo Ola and Eddie who performed here and all over Europe in the 1930s. They barely got out before the Nazis invaded Denmark.  

     BGOM: Can you tell us about one of your favorite African Americans in Copenhagen stories that you’ve found in your research? 

   EW: As I continued visiting Denmark, I kept encountering stories about African Americans in Denmark that influenced me to write this book. During my second visit in January 2011 I discovered that my favorite Danish actor, Thure Lindhardt, was performing in a play. I asked the theater if they had the tradition of allowing the audience to meet the actors after the performances like on Broadway in the US. They said no. I contacted Lindhardt directly and met him after his performance in Crime and Punishment at Skuespilhuset (Royal Danish Playhouse). Later, I read a biography of social worker Thyra J. Edwards who studied at the International People’s College in Helsingør in 1933-1934. In December 1933 she saw a play, Green Pastures, at Betty Nansen Theatre in Frederiksberg. She enquired about the tradition of meeting actors at the stage door too. She did get a chance to meet the lead actor by contacting him directly by letter. I had inadvertently followed in her footsteps! Also, while living in Nørrebro in July and August 2013 I took a shortcut through Assistens Kirkegård and came across the headstone of jazz musician Ben Webster. I later learned that there are approximately seven African American jazz musicians who lived and were buried in Denmark. I wanted to write about them too.  

    
    BGOM: What are your impressions about Copenhagen and its role in the African American narrative? 

    EW: I believe that the relationship between African Americans and Denmark has been unexplored. My project expands the geographic boundaries of the transnational experiences of African Americans beyond France. Many educators and social workers came to Denmark in the early 20th century to learn about Denmark’s cooperative movement and folk schools. They hoped that these movements could help uplift the lives of African Americans in the lower classes.  

             BGOM: Why do you think Copenhagen was an attractive place for many African Americans? 

    EW: Clearly many of the African Americans in my study felt that they were treated well while visiting or living in Denmark—better than how they were treated in the United Sates as African Americans. In the cases of performers like singers Alberta Hunter and Marian Anderson, Danish audiences adored them. Anderson was famously denied the opportunity to perform Constitution Hall in Washington, DC in 1939 because she was African American. Contrast that with in 1934, while in Denmark, she proved to be so popular that she was prevented from putting on additional performances because she was making too much money. The Danish banks feared that they would not have enough crowns to pay her! Legendary baseball player Curt Flood said it best after fleeing to Denmark after losing his Supreme Court battle. He told the New York Times that when he was in Copenhagen that he was treated as neither a black man nor as an athlete—‘just as a human being.’  

  

     BGOM: Does it seem that some of these African Americans were able to flourish here? If so, why do you think? 

    EW: The jazz musicians definitely flourished here financially and personally—many married and raised families in Denmark. But it is important to note that they were already accomplished before they arrived in Denmark. These men were major jazz musicians in the United States. Many reported that they could make a good living as musicians in Denmark as opposed to in the United States because the Danish audiences really appreciated jazz. Many also mentioned that they felt more welcomed here as Black people.