Black man in the Netherlands

by Francio Guadaloupe

Francio Guadeloupe has lived in both the Dutch Antilles and the Netherlands. An anthropologist by vocation, he is a keen observer by honed habit. In his new book, he wields both personal and anthropological observations. Simultaneously memoir and astute exploration, Black Man in the Netherlands charts Guadeloupe's coming of age and adulthood in a Dutch world and movingly makes a global contribution to the understanding of anti-Black racism. Guadeloupe identifies the intersections among urban popular culture, racism, and multiculturalism in youth culture in the Netherlands and the wider Dutch Kingdom. He probes the degrees to which traditional ethnic division collapses before a rising Dutch polyethnicity. What comes to light, given the ethnic multiplicity that Afro-Antilleans live, is their extraordinarily successful work in forging an anti-racist Dutch identity via urban popular culture. This alternative way of being Dutch welcomes the Black experience as global and increasingly local Black artists find fame and even idolization. Black Man in the Netherlands is a vivid extension of renowned critical race studies by such Marxist theorists as Achille Mbembe, Paul Gilroy, Stuart Hall, and C. L. R. James, and it bears a palpable connection to such Black Atlantic artists as Peter Tosh, Juan Luis Guerra, and KRS-One. Guadeloupe explores the complexities of Black life in the Netherlands and shows that within their means, Afro-Antilleans often effectively contest Dutch racism in civic and work life.

Genres: Anthropology

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2021

Reviews

[Nina Adriaanse]

Guadaloupe lijkt een naïef aandoende, persoonlijke wensdroom te beschrijven; een kleurenblinde samenleving waarin een urbane kosmopolitische cultuur verschillen overbrugt of zelfs doet verdwijnen. Ik stoorde me soms aan de vileine opmerkingen jegens 'activisten' die een dagelijkse werkelijkheid bevechten waarin o.a. kleur wel degelijk de basis is voor ongelijkheid en onrechtvaardigheid (en helaas ook geweld in allerlei vormen).

Daarnaast is het te vaak lastig te begrijpen wat het punt is dat Guadaloupe wil maken: hij gaat van de hak op de tak en neemt zijpaden die hij niet uitloopt, maar trekt op basis daarvan wel vrij stevige conclusies / doet aannames.

[Ciel Rombouts · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author explores a very interesting narrative, especially from an anthropological perspective. However, it lacked a clear structure, resulting in me not fully comprehending his point. Does the author argue that appreciating multiculturalism and promoting conviviality are a fix-all for systemic and institutional racism? This would seem too idealistic to me, but maybe I didn’t understand it at all 🤷🏼‍♀️

Additionally, although it is touched upon, the perspective is not intersectional at all, which made it quite one-dimensional I fear.

All in all, a new and different perspective to critical race theory, but unfortunately not the book for me.