During the Black Lives Matter protests last year, there were massive demonstrations against racism. Prime Minister Mark Rutte spoke out against systemic racism for the first time. But what do these words mean in practice?
Aissa Traoré - creator and initiator of MANNENHART - is cautiously positive, but according to her a lot has to happen. In the media she sees very little diversity. "And if you do see colour, then it is the stereotyped images. The Surinamese who cheat, dark people who represent criminals", says Traoré. In order to hear a different voice, she devised the online talk show MANNENHART, made by people of colour. The goal of Afro-Dutch Powerhouse is to normalise diversity on screen by creating its own web series. Besides the talk show MANNENHART, the production house also produces the programme ADEM by Whitney Muanza.
There are still many steps to be taken in politics as well, says Rudy van der Beek, founder of the black student union Tribez. He notes that there are zero black members of parliament. "Really ridiculous. There are a lot of black people in the Netherlands. How can certain interests be discussed if there are no representatives?"
Watch episode 1 of MAN'S HEART the talk show of Afro-Dutch Powerhouse where men put their hearts on the table.