Marvin Hokstam elected to Black Members Council of British journalist union

THE NETHERLANDS — 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.

Hokstam, who was born in Suriname, lived in St. Maarten from the late nineties, working first as a journalist for The Daily Herald and then as editor for the Today Newspaper, after which he worked as communications consultant for the airport, before relocating to the Netherlands.

At first he wrote:“LOL. This actually happened more than a month ago that I was elected, but I decided to share it only now.”

There he runs Weekend College, an educational support program for immigrant children in Amsterdam Zuidoost, while also producing www.afromagazine, a platform he started in 2015 to cover the stories of the black community of the Netherlands.

“And since I studied in England and still freelance on occasion for The Daily Herald and other English-speaking media houses, I was recommended to become a member of the Dutch branch of the NUJ and they subsequently nominated me for a seat on the BMC,” he explained.

The BMC monitors discrimination in the media industry and works to promote anti-racism. The council maintains a critical relationship with Black and minority ethnic media and can act as a liaison between the NUJ and local communities.

“What I found interesting was that the NUJ was lightyears ahead of the Dutch Union of Journalists NvJ -which I am also a member of; he NUJ has a track record of challenging racism in the media industry. I was very pleased to find that they actually have guide for journalists on how to cover race, with guidelines like ‘NUJ members have a responsibility to stop racism being expressed in the media” and “editors must ensure that coverage of stories relating to race are placed in a balanced social and ethical context.’ They even tell their members that they do not have to report on racist organisations. Dutch mainstream media is meanwhile only now considering to adjust their use of offensive language. And the Dutch union NvJ hasn’t even touched the subject.”

Hokstam said he intends to use his position on the BMC to try to challenge the status quo in Dutch media. “Racism is a huge problem here. And I believe the media has a role to play in educating the community it serves. Journalists that use offensive language in their reporting only contribute to the problem. I am thinking of ways of how to import this British method of educating journalists on how to cover minority issues properly. Change has got to start somewhere … and it doesn’t happen when you just sit, watch and don’t’ do what you can.”

Written for 721-news.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

THE NETHERLANDS — 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.

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