The events of the last couple of weeks have got me reflecting, particularly on my experience as a black woman in Denmark. Denmark is a country renowned for its liberalism and tolerance and I was not surprised to learn that protests have been held here in support of the American George Floyd police brutality case. Though I have to admit, it’s a bit jarring to me to hear people here say “we don’t have that in Denmark”, or “Denmark’s not like that”.
Denmark doesn’t have as many cases of police brutality against black people or other people of colour as the USA. But (1) it’s not some type of “oppression olympics” for which country has the worst levels of racism and (2) the fact that there is any racism in a society at all means there is work to be done eradicating it. And for me, I’ve found that being black in Denmark is not that far removed from being black in the UK or being black in the US or most other countries in the world.
“Most people will assume you’re a refugee”
On my first day in Denmark someone told me not to be offended but “most people will assume you’ve come as a refugee”. You can see the amazement that white Danish people display whenever I tell them I’m working here which I find baffling. Another popular assumption is that I am a student (and not just because I look eternally young but thanks Mum for the youthful skin!) and then once corrected, people tell me how my parents and family must be so proud that I am a lawyer. Why is it so hard to accept a black person could have a white collar job? Standard microaggression stuff. And of course there’s more.
- My suitcase always being searched at the airport whenever I returned to Aarhus from travel. Dressing smartly does not make a difference when you are black in Denmark. Skin colour is all that the airport officials would see before they asked me to step aside and open my case. [2023 UPDATE – Happily I have not had this experience at Copenhagen airport, and I no longer travel through Aarhus airport so hopefully it’s now a thing of the past.]
- The “townhall” discussions at work every other week if I should so much as wear my hair in a SLIGHTLY different style; I’m talking high puff to low bun. You can almost see heads exploding whenever I get braids.
- I am the oracle for everything black.
- Being told that “blackface is only offensive to black people”.
- Having someone interrupt my conversation to make me listen to him mock Nigerian names with some other colleagues…then tell me I am too feisty and sensitive when I asked if they were having an ignorant moment.
- Being told my name is hard to pronounce.
- Someone sharing with me that they used to not like Somalis but then they “saw a funny Somali comedian”. That’s it, nothing else.
- Being told I speak “good English”.
There are many more but hopefully it illustrates the point that microaggressions here are just like anywhere else, just a bit nuanced to fit the relevant country and environment.
All of a sudden, the thing I was so proud of was filling me with dread at the thought that I would be across the hall from the head of the local KKK chapter.
An experience that stands out in my memory was when I bought my flat. I had gotten the keys a month before the actual completion date and I was super excited and proud and happy and everything about buying my first property. On a particular evening, as I was carrying my freshly-purchased IKEA furniture in, I heard the door across the hall open and this older white lady stormed over and started yelling at me in Danish. I politely said “I don’t speak Danish” to which she responded in English, same loud volume “What are you doing here? Who are you?”. I said I was moving in and continued struggling to carry the heavy pieces of my wardrobe into the flat. She stormed back into her flat only to reappear moments later shouting into her phone and standing over me in my doorway as I continued to struggle to lug/push the wardrobe pieces in.
Why do white people view black people as a threat? Would my neighbour have reacted the same way if it was a white person moving in?
At the start of all this, I was just annoyed but when she came back, talking into her phone, I got really afraid. I didn’t know who she was calling, I just knew I was scared. I was thinking to myself “you don’t understand Danish and you’re alone here; if she is calling the police or whoever, you don’t know how things will go.” Then I freaked out and thought that maybe the seller (also the building owner) would back out from completion of the property transaction because of this woman. Feeling overwhelmed and a bit shaken, I got the last of the pieces into the door and left quickly to get the bus back to my old place. I called my sister and shared my experience. All of a sudden, the thing I was so proud of was filling me with dread at the thought that I would be across the hall from the head of the local KKK chapter.
People need to realise that racism is not just the white hooded sheet clad character burning crosses. At least those racists we can see.
I may not have had any violent racist experiences in Denmark and hopefully I never will. But I’d much rather not have any racist experiences at all. I genuinely hope that this is a moment in history that people will finally reflect and confront their prejudices and biases. Why do white people view black people as a threat? Would my neighbour have reacted as aggressively if it had been a white person moving in?
People need to realise that racism is not just the white hooded sheet clad character burning crosses. At least those racists we can see. But the unconscious bias and microaggressions that don’t allow black people equal access to the same opportunities for economic freedom as white people are so much more insidious. I am one of only two black people amongst hundreds of people permanently employed at the headquarters of my company. I don’t need white people’s apologies for their ancestors’ behaviour. I need them to work with us black people NOW to level the economic and financial playing field. A lot of people have never been more hopeful than now. Let’s see if this moment in time will yield real change…here’s hoping anyway.
