Thomas Chatterton Williams: can we unlearn race?

Necessary
Preferences
Statistics
Marketing
test_cookie
__cf_bm
_cfuvid
CookieConsent [x2]
__RequestVerificationToken
ASP.NET_SessionId
sc_anonymous_id
NRBA_SESSION
number(#)
_ga
_ga_#
_gat
_gcl_au
_gid
NID
WIDGET::local::assignments
i/jot/embeds
#-#
iU5q-!O9@$
LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY
LogsDatabaseV2:V#||LogsRequestsStore
nextId
remote_sid
requests
ServiceWorkerLogsDatabase#SWHealthLog
TESTCOOKIESENABLED
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
YSC
yt.innertube::nextId
ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY
YtIdbMeta#databases
yt-remote-cast-available
yt-remote-cast-installed
yt-remote-connected-devices
yt-remote-device-id
yt-remote-fast-check-period
yt-remote-session-app
yt-remote-session-name
cult
Do not sell or share my personal information
Ex-black, that is what the American writer and cultural critic Thomas Chatterton Williams calls himself provocatively. Chatterton Williams argues that while there is a lot of attention for the fluidity of gender and sexuality, when it comes to race we are still stuck in binary concepts. Should we stop using racial terminology?
Ex-black, that is what the American writer and cultural critic Thomas Chatterton Williams calls himself provocatively. Chatterton Williams argues that while there is a lot of attention for the fluidity of gender and sexuality, when it comes to race we are still stuck in binary concepts. Should we stop using racial terminology?
Growing up in the United States, son of a black father from the segregated South en and a white mother from California, Thomas Chatterton Williams never questioned his identity: he was black. This was so fundamental to his self-conception that he never rigorously reflected on its foundations. But his experience of living in France and becoming the father of two white-looking, blonde-haired children led him to question long-held convictions about race and identity. During Vrijdenkersfestival we invite Thomas Chatterton Williams to discuss his quest to unlearn race. Did we bring in the Trojan horse with racial terminology, or is thinking in ‘black’ and ‘white’ the only way to address and fight racism?
I am convinced that we will never overcome the evils of racism as long as we fail first to imagine and then to conjure a world free of racial categorization and the hierarchies it necessarily implies
In honnor of the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam, we reflect on our understanding of freedom and what it means to us. Freedom is inextricably linked to Amsterdam; in the 17th century, the city already served as a safe haven for freethinkers and dissenters. In collaboration with the Municipality of Amsterdam, BIMHUIS, and Podium Mozaïek, De Balie is organizing Vrijdenkersfestival for the fifth consecutive time. Between October 31 and November 3, various programs will be presented exploring this theme through debates, theater, and other art forms.
Twenty years ago, Theo van Gogh was murdered. His last words were, ‘Mercy, mercy. Can’t we talk about it?’ Although the Netherlands was deeply divided after the murder, Van Gogh’s plea can be seen as a call to action. How do you keep the conversation going in a country where people seem to be finished talking with each other?