blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

On Friday April 10th about 20 people gathered in Brussels, Belgium.  We were from all over Europe: Hungary, Slovenia, Germany, Ireland, London, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Belgium and Denmark and we came together to move towards a EU framework for national strategies to combat Afrophobia and promote the inclusion of people of African descent and Black Europeans. Afrophobia  (a term that rightfully warrants a thorough discussion on the merits of using such a term in the first place) attempts to put a name to a force that many people of African descent have all too commonly had to face around the world: of living within an oppressive sometimes subliminally, sometimes more openly, racist society. The failure of many to see the direct relationship between the way in which the policy of racism privileges a certain group and disenfranchises many others is strange to me. What is startling is that anti-Black racism as a phenomenon per se is not even officially recognized...

YAAM in Berlin This Easter found me in Berlin - which is an approximately 6 hour train ride from Copenhagen's Central Station. Kids are free until 16 years of age - and with the Central Station a mere few blocks away from my home, Kai and I decided to take a train to another country.  It was great because the last time I met up with Dina Krasman, a former roommate at Flux in Williamsburgh. Dina is from Portugal and Germany and she's now living in Berlin.  She was one of the many visitors we had from around the world in the old feather factory in Williamsburgh that a lot of us called home. The building on Kent and Metropolitan - 210A Kent Avenue - isn't there any more, but it will always be a part of our lives. When I in New York last winter, I had the opportunity to stay in Williamsburgh - and to say that it has changed is an understatement.  I'm thankful to have been there the period that I was and to have spent the time spent there.  If it's one that that ...

Karina & Mr. Clint  future pharmacist and engineer One of the many things I have done during my life here in Denmark was work as a teacher at Copenhagen Euro School. It's a school in Vesterbro - and when I first walked into that school about 11 years ago - I fell in love with it. It didn't matter that the school was small, or that the building looked like it was about to fall to the ground. No. What mattered were the kids - a lively bunch of diversity and love and challenges. I had always wanted to teach there and was delighted when some years later, on the recommendation of a teacher there, I was headhunted to teach Middle School English. I taught English to 5th, 6th and 7th graders - and it was not only one of the most challenging jobs I have ever had - but the most rewarding. I left teaching a couple of years ago, about the same time that the leader of the school at the time, Robert Barrett decided to end his 16 year tenure there. Rob is originally from Canada ...

No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear | The Nation "We may also delude ourselves into thinking that our efforts to “civilize” or “pacify” other countries are not about money. Slavery was always about money: free labor producing money for owners and industries." 

Dear World. This is a picture of a Smart Dane: He makes fashion. Music. Installation. He doesn't believe in bullying other people.  You can read more about him in an upcoming interview.  He makes art like this: His name is Henrik Vibskov. But this Guy.  He's a member of Parliament. His name is Thomas Danielsen. He receives my tax kroner.  And he makes posters like this:  Thomas Danielsen is a GREAT example of a DUMB DANE.  The poster reads: "If you Come to Denmark, you have to use your education". Now, not all Danes are dumb. But I trust you will now be able to recognize the difference.  This concludes our lesson on Smart Dane, Dumb Dane for today.  farvel,  the lab