The Netherlands officially abolished slavery within the entire Kingdom in 1863. However, enslaved people in Suriname had to continue working on the plantations for another ten years after this. The history of slavery still persists today in the forms of racism and discrimination.
Resistance to anti-black racism in the Netherlands received a boost from the United States through protests co-led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. The honourary doctorate he received from VU Amsterdam in 1965 exemplifies this.
Recognition for the victims as well as for the heroes in this history - such as Tula and De Kom - is only now commencing, following a prolonged struggle by Afro-Caribbean activists. The nature and scope of this history, along with the role of the Netherlands, are becoming increasingly evident to everyone. The same applies to the need to address and rectify the enduring consequences.
Why We Can't Wait
In the 2023 year's Martin Luther King Lecture, we joined Anthony Bogues in looking at the contributions of activism and protest against the injustices stemming from the history of slavery, and the relevance of King's ideas – as outlined in his work Why We Can't Wait – to today's world.
After the lecture, Franc Weerwind, outgoing Minister for Legal Protection, and Pepijn Brandon, Professor of Global Economic and Social History at VU Amsterdam discussed the topic, moderated by Aldith Hunkar.
About the speaker
Anthony Bogues is a writer, curator and political theorist, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice and Asa Messer Professor of Humanities and Critical Theory at Brown University. The Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice at Brown University is a centre for dynamic research on historical racial slavery that examines how its legacy shapes the contemporary world.
He has written extensively on political theory and intellectual history of Africa and the African diaspora with a particular interest in the evolution of knowledge and systems of scholarship regarding the relationships between scholarship, society and race. He is also visiting professor of thought on Africa and the African diaspora at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
"...if decoloniality is supposed to inspire change, then I think it must include a practice of undoing histories that universities reflect and make histories of their dark past transparent"
Anthony Bogues in an extended interview by Susan Legêne
About the Martin Luther King Lecture
Martin Luther King's non-violent struggle for equal rights is still an inspiration today. With his speeches, he enthused many and managed to build bridges and remove resistance. This annual lecture is in memory of his work and to inspire.