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Thursday 8 December 2011

Update: Amsterdam's City Theater (Stadsschouwburg) and their racist print

Dear folks,
The Anti Discriminationbureau reacted to our complaints (see blog post below) and wrote that they will send the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg a letter but they won't take action against the cartoonist. We still urge people who haven't done so already to send an e-mail to both the Stadsschouwburg and the Anti Discriminationbureau to let them know what kind of impact this has on the community! Thanks in advance.

E-mails

Example of a text to send
Dear Sir, Madam,
With this e-mail I, too, would like to file a complaint against the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg for using a racist print that uses the term “kutneger”. I’ve read the reply your organisation sent to the people who sent their complaint before December 8, 2011 and I’m not sending you this e-mail in the hopes to change your mind about how your organisation deals with this issue. I truly hope that my e-mail adds to your understanding of the impact an illustration (that even the director of the Stadsschouwburg describes as 'disgusting') like this has on the community.

Melle Daamen, the director of the Stadsschouwburg tried to explain the non-racist nature of his theater by mentioning that they 'also' had Spike Lee and Jesse Jackson on their stage. Perhaps your organisation can inform him that racism isn't a matter of quota; even someone whose best friend is Black can still have racist tendencies.
I trust that you register this e-mail as a discrimination complaint on the basis of what you categorize as ‘race/ heritage/ skin colour’.

With kind regards,
(Name and city)

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Filing complaint against Amsterdam's City Theater's racist print

Dear folks, 
At the height of Sinterklaas, Holland’s annual celebration of blackface in the Netherlands, the Stadsschouwburg (Amsterdam City Theater) published a cartoon in which Sinterklaas (a version of Santa Claus) tells Zwarte Piet (his blackfaced servant) to “Get lost, fucking Negro”.

This image (see photo) was used for their Sinterklaas party for adults-event. For our non-Dutch readers: the character on the left says: “It’s December 5th again… Time for your annual stroll, Sinterklaas”

We truly hope that you’ll join us in our quest to fight racism in the Netherlands by sending the text below to the Anti Discrimination Bureau and the director of the City Theater. Please add soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com as a CC. We’re not adding you to our mailinglist and we won’t spam you; we’re just keeping a very close eye on the number of complaints so we have some actual numbers when people are trying to prove "there's no racism in the Netherlands!"
Sending the e-mail
To:
discriminatie@mdra.nl, Melle.Daamen@ssba.nl
CC to: soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com

Example of a text:Dear Sir, Madam,
With this e-mail I’d like to file a complaint with the Anti Discrimination Bureau against the Amsterdam City Theater (de Amsterdamse Stadsschouwburg) for using an illustration in which a Black character is told to, and I translate “Oh, get lost, fucking Negro.”
Such a cartoon is absolutely racist and I urge you to follow the proper procedures and handle this matter the same way you handled the issues with products like face paint with the name Negro black (negerzwart-schmink) and wigs with the name Negro wig (negerpruik). If saying “fucking Jew” is anti-Semitism then surely this should be considered anti-Africanism
Sincerely,
(Name and city)

Thursday 1 December 2011

Soapbox presents the "BLACK EYE movie festival"



Peace dear folks,

Sunday December 4th will be the last day of our two day documentary festival.

------- Basic info -------

Date: Sunday December 4
Location: NoLimit (Geldershoofd 80, 1103 BG Amsterdam)
Tickets: €3
For reservations: soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com

------- Program -------

Program

16:30h – Doors open
17:00h - 18:00h Screening: Coconut Revolution
18:00h - 19:00h Screening: Black Panther (1968)
19:00h - 20:00h Screening: A Place of Rage
20.00h – 21:30h Speakers platform / discussing the documentaries

------- Public transportation to NoLimit -------
Metro 53 - Get off at Ganzenhoef. From there it's a 2 minute walk.
Bus 45 or 66 - Get off at Geldershoofd. From there it's a 1 minute walk.