A phase - HOX Projects

My talk at WUR was only two hours, but there was so much to unpack.

That mix student for instance who interrupted me to tell her class about that time when a friend of her mom’s asked her mom if she (her daughter) has been adopted.

When the mom said “no this is my daughter, from my belly”, the friend responded “oh with that Black guy you were dating? I thought that was a phase”.

The student recounts: “And I was a little girl, standing right there, and someone asks if I was a phase. And my parents are still together btw”

Or when another student asked that I took a positive route to a story where a white person defended an anti-racist, and I couldn’t come up with a story then.

This morning I found that story

It was two years ago I was invited by the Prince Claus Foundation to attend an award ceremony in Paleis De Dam.

King Willem Alexander was also there and I felt totally out of place with all these people kissing royalty’s behind because royalty convinced them that their “blue” blood was better than average blood. (No I am not a fan of anybody who considers themselves royalty)

Anyway, I was chilling with Jerry King Luther Afriyie who is the biggest anti zwarte demonstrator you’ll find. One of the more prolific people I know.

He lost his job because he stood up against zwarte piet, he was dragged through the courtsystem for years because he stood up against zwarte piet. So of course when I’m in a ridiculously opulent palace with people sucking up to royalty, I will hang with him!

The king was standing about ten meters from us with some people (who were sucking up to him)

And from the corner of my eyes I could see the king noticing us

Then a skinny guy who had been standing with the king, walks up to us, together with a young lady.

The guy starts a conversation with Jerry and the girl takes me aside to distract me. I realize that the king wants to speak to Jerry, but not me! And her job is to distract me

And then I see the most wonderful thing happen. Jerry, ever so cool and reserved and confident, walks up and has a 10 minute conversation with the king

This is just 2 days after dec 5, after the annual racism peak had ended. Racists had just finished attacking Jerry for being anti zwarte piet

And the king sees him from afar and invites him and not them, the racists, for a candid personal conversation!

This was the biggest defense of anti racism I have personally witnessed: the person who people consider their king and leader, publicly kind of taking a stand with an anti-racist. Should send a message, but of course the mainstream media missed it.

I of course did write an article about it

https://www.afromagazine.nl/opinie/toen-de-koning-de-activist-ontmoette

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IN DE PERS

Welternaehrung

I was approached to write an article for the online journal Welternaehrung in Germany, that dealt with migration and I slipped in some of my views on how Governments should take responsibility.
And I took advantage of the opportunity to express how proud I still am with Amsterdam Zuidoost where adults banned together so the -mostly migrant- young people from the neighborhood, did not participate in violent and ignorant conspiracy driven anti-COVID-measure riots that shook the Netherlands a few weeks ago.
The Germans then translated my views to German.

Ich bin stolz darauf, dass ich dazu aufgefordert wurde

Voice of African Migrants

Two weeks ago I spoke briefly at a GFMD webinar on migration and racism. I spoke about my work with AFRO Magazine and Weekend College. Next thing you know, a journalist in Nigeria tells me he wants to interview me for the Voice of African Migrants. Honored to be featured by them.

“How did the developed world become the developed world?”

OneWORLD

Op 1 juli vieren we dat de kolonisator zich bewust werd van de menselijkheid van zwarte mensen, stelt Marvin Hokstam. “Ik heb niks met Keti Koti.”

OneWORLD

Het maakt niet uit of Ron Jans een ‘goeie vent’ is, zijn gedrag moet worden veroordeeld, schrijft Marvin Hokstam. ‘Het is best mogelijk om stil te worden tijdens je bezoek aan Robbeneiland én een blinde vlek te hebben voor racistisch taalgebruik.’

NUJ

Marvin comments in the upcoming issue of the union’s magazine:

“This is about journalists being aware that the way they approach a subject is how it is perceived by their communities. The fact that there is still debate about this in 2019 is concerning, especially when journalists and newspapers appear to take sides in favour of those supporting black Piet.

NLTimes

The motion passed by the British journalists’ union originated from the NUJ Black Members Council, on the initiative of Marivn Hokstam, Founder and Managing Editor of the Dutch publication Afro Magazine. Hokstam is a member of the Dutch branch of the NUJ.

Zwarte Piet is Racisme.nl

Journalisten die verslag doen van het zwarte Pietendebat dienen zich te houden aan de journalistieke regel dat “van journalisten geen materiaal dient te komen dat discriminatie op basis van ras en kleur bevordert”. Dit staat in een motie die vandaag werd aangenomen door de National Executive Council (NEC) van de Britse Unie van Journalisten NUJ in London. De motie was aangezwengeld door Marvin Hokstam, uitgever van AFRO Magazine, in reactie op wat hij onethische verslaggeving over de zwarte piet demonstranten door Nederlandse journalisten noemde.

Guava

Marvin Speaks – A conversation with Marvin Hokstam

ParBode

Marvin Hokstam, opgegroeid “in een klein dorp in Suriname, op de rand van het oerwoud”, zoals hij het zelf lyrisch uitdrukt, is journalist, schrijver, publicist en communicatieconsultant. Hij begon als student journalistiek aan de AHKCO in Suriname, en behaalde in Engeland een postgraduate degree in mediastudies. Tegenwoordig is hij in Nederland actief als schrijver en uitgever van het online platform AFRO Magazine, en als projectleider van het onderwijsondersteuningsproject Weekend College van Amsterdam-Zuidoost.

721-News election to NUJ/BMC

Former The Daily Herald journalist Marvin Hokstam has been elected to the Black Members Council of the British National Union of Journalists. After he shared news of this on his Facebook page last week, we asked him about it.

Interview door Socialisme.nu

Marvin Hokstam is redacteur van het Afro Magazine. Al vijfentwintig jaar is hij een journalist die schrijft over onderwerpen die de internationale Afrogemeenschap aangaan. Hij sprak met Mark Kilian over de nasleep van de Caribische orkanen, koloniaal racisme en climate justice.

Opiniestuk in Parool

Een museum over zwarte geschiedenis moet geschiedenis, emoties en nuances vertellen vanuit een zwart perspectief, schrijft Marvin Hokstam.

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