What is it like being black in the Netherlands

In this video I go over what it is like for me as a black woman living in the Netherlands.

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[MOPPP]

As a black woman whom grew up in The Netherlands I have to say the Dutch people have been nothing but kind to me - I've lived in many other countries since then and never felt at home as I did in NL. Planning to move back this year ..

[gingerbeard]

I am Dutch and happy to hear this from you. I must say that sometimes I fear there is a growing polarisation between Arabs and some of the Dutch which pains me and I hope we can fix it that on time. You are very welcome here!

[hunchbackaudio]

I always wondered why they call these American cities melting pots, while every ethnicity lives in their own neighborhoods? The Netherlands is not perfect, but at least we try to live and work together. You can’t fix the occasional racist nutcase.

[TheExplorder]

Before watching the video: Ooef, this is going to be an interesting video.

After watching the video: Pfew, that's good to hear. I;m so happy for you and your son.

[bobosims]

Welcome to the Netherlands, dear. I hope that you and your kid(s) will always be met with goodwill in Dordrecht, or wherever you might move later.
In my life, I have encountered a few characters that would make horrible remarks about non-caucasian people of ANY ethnic persuasion. So I know that racism *does* exist here for sure. And even as a white Dutchman, this always bothers me. I'm happy to say, though, that the only reason that such things really stand out to me, is that they are so rare.

[snoopyloopy]

Although not living in The NLs, I've visited several times for weeks at a time, most recently to a village near Winschoten, and I would agree with your assessment. Even there, I didn't get any stares or looks of surprise and if I'm honest, I also saw more other Black people than I would have necessarily expected to see. I'm sure that some racists exist, but as you noted, it's simply not the same experience as here in America.

[bertkassing]

I'm glad to hear that you haven't noticed any racism (yet) here in the Netherlands. But it certainly is. Okay, not nearly as much as in the US, but
I am white myself and I adopted two daughters from China. I can also happily tell you that they have never noticed anything of racism in their lives. And they are now 22 and 24 years old. Our youngest daughter is in a relationship with a black boy. He is a sweet and good boy. He also has little to no experience with it (by racism I mean).

[JulesMVan]

Hi, I'm from Dordrecht ! So happy you are having a good experience here !

[ebbieintech]

I absolutely love your videos! It helps me out so much! I plan to move to the Netherlands in about 2 years and having someone who is black who also has a biracial child, really helps put in prospective the experiences I may have.

[adpop]

In the U.S. black people are Afro-Americans, in The Netherlands we have black people but they aren't Afro-Dutch, they are Dutch. Or they are Suriname or Antillean but then they or their parents are actually from Suriname or the Antilles. Unlike Afro-Americans who aren't from Africa but actually are just as American as Americans from European decent.

[froukjematthews]

I think most people in the Netherlands respond to the person you are, nothing to do with colour; you seem such an open and bubbly person and you get back what you give out. When someone complains about prejudice it may be a good idea to see how they behave or what kind of vibes' they give out. But good on you girl, I hope you'll stay!

[ahkotl]

This is a question which is important to ask, as the answers you get can show you how to improve as a person and as a society :)
I'm really happy to hear you say how much more you are at ease here, it is very important to be able to live your life as worry-free as possible.

I did some googling, there are some black/afro hairdressers in Dordrecht. One I found near the station is called Astou Hairstyle, it isn't the only one but they have a website showing they can do black hair.

[honeydrop]

yeah as a black person not from the US but living in the Netherlands just want to say not everyone has a good experience as you.
The Netherlands is not the same as the US when it comes to racism, but does not mean it does not happen at all. I also lived in Dordrecht, its still relatively big in comparison to the villages. And Dordrecht is quite divers too.

[trosjewol]

Thank you for this information. To be honest, I have never had to deal with discrimination in the Netherlands. I was born and raised here. My father was from Indonesia and my mother from Australia. All my friends are Dutch. When I was little, I was the only brown girl, and that's why I was cute to my blonde friends. They have always cherished me. When I played at my friends house some of the older ones would sometimes say black but that was because I had black hair, just like I just said my friends blonde. This has nothing to do with discrimination. For example, the Dutchman can say Fries or Tukker, which are places in the Netherlands, but that is not discrimination.
I love the Netherlands very much and when I am on holiday in another country I am sick of homesickness for the first 2 weeks. My half-brother had a Surinamese father and he was never excluded from society. The original inhabitants of the Netherlands are very tolerant and look at people and not at the color. How someone is as a person is important, are you nice or annoying that can be responded to. Lots of love from me xo, love to your family

[justincredible.]

Welcome to the Netherlands, hope you and your family feel at home and welcome.

[patricklebens]

After that doei, I wanted to double like this clip, much love.

[resi]

I live in the South of the Netherlands and i can honestly say that here it makes no difference what color your skin is. That is the way it should be, color does not matter what counts if you have a good hart. I am proud to say that i did a good job bringing that vieuw to my kids because they have lots of frends that are a different color of skin. So did i and still have sins a very young age.

[vincenzodigrande]

I have lived in the Netherlands for almost 50 years and I know there are areas here too that are quite monocultural and perhaps more racist, but in the Randstad area for sure people will be very used to seeing all sorts and types of cultures and racism will be very minimal. The Netherlands may have gotten a bad name due to Zwarte Piet, but it is often associated with the much more negative character type 'blackface' which was a mere mockery whereas zwarte Piet really is rather a children's friend. Those who see it like that understandably find it very hard to dis-associate this off course. There are more cultures with similar figures like three kings in Spain and a few more even in the Middle East, which are not blackface either. Nowadays I might say racism in the Netherlands is very frowned upon and by far most people will stand for that.

[blackbean]

I’ve been wanting to escape the hostile & toxic society here in the states. It’s sad all I want to do is live in peace and quiet. I just want to be happy and feel safe sitting in public just doing nothing. You can’t be black in America & have a peaceful day or mind.

[patrickvanoverbeek]

Welcome to the Netherlands, hope you and your family get a good life here :)