Taking racism beyond Dutch innocence

Abstract

Explicit racism’s increased presence in Dutch public space did not lead to public recognition of the existence of structural forms of racism in the Netherlands until recently. Previously, I argued this denial was historically rooted in the construction of the Dutch self-image as charitable and open versus the framing of migrants as “weak”, “disadvantaged” others who need help from the majority group. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement changed this denial of structural racism in the Netherlands. Never before have structural forms of racism been addressed so widely and cross-racially in the Dutch public space and within institutions. Additionally, awareness of structural racism is growing among non-White young professionals, who previously thought their exclusion from or marginalisation within Dutch society was due to personal inability and lack of strategies to “adapt”. The increasing calls against institutional racism in the Netherlands mean unsettling the status quo and creating inclusionary spaces and practices.