Everyday racisme

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Alledaags Racisme (everyday racism) is a book published in 1984 by the anthropologist Philomena Essed about racism in the Netherlands . The author received her doctorate in 1990 with distinction from the University of Amsterdam on the subject of Understanding Everyday Racism , a theoretical specialization that builds on an earlier doctoral thesis. The commercial edition of this thesis Inzicht in alledaags racisme was published in 1991.

research

For the work, 55 women between the ages of 20 and 45, 27 Surinamese women in the Netherlands and 28 black women in major cities in California in the USA , were asked about their experiences with racism. The author also conducted interviews herself: 27 among black women in cities in California and 28 among Surinamese women in the Netherlands. The fact that the research focused on women went back to the author's feminism . According to the author, white feminists were in the ambiguous position that on the one hand they could recognize themselves in the experience of discrimination, but on the other hand they could not imagine that they themselves were potentially racist. In this group, the realization that they could be not only victims but also oppressors led to rivalries: there is a kind of competition about who is most pathetic now. Reports ranged from elderly people who did not want to be cared for by a black nurse and were blunt, to ignoring black people in a long line in a store, to harassing a black woman in a supermarket for fear of theft . Upon receiving the first edition of the book, Princess Irene said : Racism is not primarily a problem for blacks, but for whites.

Conclusions

Essed analyzed racism on a cultural, institutional and individual level. It was not primarily conscious and deliberate racism: Consciously or unconsciously, whether will it or not, every white person in Dutch society benefits directly or indirectly from their own privileged position vis-à-vis black citizens. Because of the often unconscious nature of the phenomenon, Essed found it pointless to fight racism with knowledge of ethnic minorities and that the first thing to do is to examine racism in one's own culture.

According to Essed, the Dutch were generally not ready to let go of their innocence and the image of a tolerant country. She saw this as a reason to deny the existence of racism in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands compared to the United States of America

One difference between American and Surinamese respondents was that the former said they learned at a young age to call discrimination racism, while the latter tend to look to themselves for the cause: I should have stayed in Suriname should, now I shouldn't complain. A paradoxical effect of discrimination is that the victim is sometimes given priority in a business:

It's quite common for salespeople when they see a black guy walk into their store for salespeople to leave all other customers standing to serve you. Then you feel terribly silly right now. Because yes, you see a black man and immediately think 'he is stealing'. Maybe they have had bad experiences and that suspicion comes up the moment you step inside. They come so fast, so you can leave quickly. Then I immediately think: Oh, come on! I don't need your stuff. As soon as I see that, I immediately walk out of the store.
There was always the frustration of basically running into a wall all the time. You knew you wouldn't get better treatment no matter how you twist or turn it because you are black. Take, for example, owning an encyclopedia. We had these books at home and I used them regularly for homework. However, the teachers often refused to believe that I knew how to use an encyclopedia. My parents were in college so I knew how to consult a reference book. But they accused me of someone else writing my paper. "

Black researchers who had chosen racism as their topic were, according to Essed, treated with suspicion by the university world, because this put the quality of research under pressure.

In Dutch Racism , three characteristics are distinguished that would be typical of Dutch racism:

  1. a permanent state of denial
  2. hide behind innocence
  3. the resentment at the slowly looming loss of privileges

criticism

After Essed received her doctorate cum laude in 1990 from Chris Mullard with "Understanding Everyday Racism" , she published a commercial edition entitled Inzicht in Alledaags Racisme . This theoretical deepening, which is partly based on the same interview material as Alledaag's Racisme , was heavily criticized. For example, sociologist and journalist Emma Brunt wrote that where others had objectively identified racism, Essed went no further than recording subjective impressions and left no methodological justification for the fact that logic was completely sacrificed to militancy, and that the Mixing up concepts like eels in a basket. The NRC editor Hans Moll attacked the study, which he viewed as vague concepts, flawed justification and unsustainable conclusions, and complained that the issue of racism was monopolized by pretentious warheads à la Essed.

Publications

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Gaby van der Mee: 'When nobody praat erover, ever think that ever de enige needed that he last van heeft' . September 24, 1984 .: 'If nobody talks about it, you think you're the only one affected by it.' in De Waarheid
  2. ↑ a b Marianne Janssen: 'Prinses Irene bij ontvangst first example "Alledaags Racisme": Racisme niet het problem van zwarte, maar van witte mensen' . September 19, 1984 .: [1] in De Telegraaf
  3. ↑ Artwell Cain, Deniece Wijdenbosch: 'Uitsluitingsmechanismes van mensen van Afrikaanse afkomst in Nederland: Wat is erover bekend? A quick scan of the literature ' . September 21, 2017 .: 'Exclusion mechanisms for people of African descent in the Netherlands: what is known about this? A brief overview of literature ' , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  4. ^ Philomena Essed, Isabel Hoving: Dutch Racism . 2014 .: Dutch Racism in the series 'Thamyris / Intersecting: Place, Sex and Race', no. 27, Brill
  5. ↑ Karel Smouter: 'Onbevooroordeeld debatteren over alledaags racisme, kan dat?' 2014 .: 'Debate without prejudice about everyday racism, is that possible?' in De Correspondent
  6. ↑ 'Professor Dr. Philomena Essed receives an honorary doctorate ' , October 17, 2015, Starnieuws
  7. ↑ Max Arian: 'Ice cold true' . April 28, 1999 .: 'IJskoud waar' in De Groene Amsterdammer
  8. ↑ Emma Brunt: 'I am racist, you are racist' . 1985 .: 'Ik ben racist, jij bent racist' in NRC Handelsblad
  9. ↑ Hans Moll: 'The inability of anti-racist science' . May 4, 1991 .: 'Het onvermogen van de antiracistische wetenschap' in NRC Handelsblad