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 Ame...