A New Dawn? Transatlantic Black Solidarity in the Dutch Black Lives Matter Protests (2020)
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2022-06-24
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en
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The Black Lives Matter (BLM) solidarity protests in the Netherlands in 2020 provided an opportunity for Afro-Dutch activists to address Dutch racism on a larger scale, but this was mainly in relation to racism in the US. This study aims to determine the strengths and limitations of Afro-Dutch and Black American solidarity in the Dutch BLM protests of 2020. In order to better understand the workings of transatlantic Black solidarity, the study examines the concept of connectedness in a diasporic context and earlier Afro-Dutch expressions of solidarity with Black Americans. Primary sources were used to study encounters between Afro-Dutch and Black American activists and contemporary Afro-Dutch expressions. This includes interviews with five Afro-Dutch activists about their views on Black solidarity. Secondary sources were consulted to outline a diasporic approach and contextualize the encounters and connections between Black activists in the Netherlands and the US. The encounters between Afro-Dutch and Black American activists that predated the BLM demonstrations of 2020 showed that Afro-Dutch activists had developed strategies to use the solidarity with Black Americans to their advantage. Although Black solidarity continues to be relevant to contemporary Afro-Dutch activists, the BLM demonstrations of 2020 showed that the Afro-Dutch approach to Black solidarity only benefits Afro-Dutch activism to a certain extent. The limitations of Afro-Dutch and Black American solidarity did, however, reinforce the importance of strengthening the Afro-Dutch movement.
Keywords: Black Lives Matter, Afro-Dutch activism, transatlantic Black solidarity, African diaspora, Atlantic slavery
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