White Pete Turning Black Power Into Profit

For the first time since whenever, I will not be at Amsterdam Roots Festival at Oosterpark. As happens in so many cities all across Europe, these park festivals are a way to enjoy the Summer in the cities left behind by residents and swarming with tourists. Those left behind or coming from afar band together in the parks, and enjoy themselves. All festivals have one thing in common: they are free of charge.

Good luck trying to get into Oosterpark without paying admission fee this year. They have changed a public park festival into a money-making machine. City council spends tax money on the festival and have us pay admission fee. They want us to pay pay pay for
 the success of the festival. I will have to say "no, no, no". It is not just about the money though. I remember enjoying the festival for many years as Surinamese and Antillean bands were playing. But, with no such bands playing when I finally got to the park last year, I did not enjoy the festival at all. Still, I was not going to complain about it as it was free. To not like it, was to just move on and go home. Not much energy wasted, so no big deal. Other people liked it, and white Pete could get his 'dance' on. The same drunk dance every year. Not my idea of fun, so I left.

This year they are going to make us pay for white Pete getting his dance on. He will have to do so without me. I will not be reaching into my pocket to fatten white pockets. I do not like how they marginalized an Antillean Band in the leaflet, but at least they were mentioned, invited and - hopefully - are getting paid. I have checked that same leaflet to find a Surinamese band. None. African Americans are skipped to make way for Africans - no Diaspora.

That leaves me to question. Whose roots are they celebrating? Why would I pay them to help celebrate other people's roots, while our direct roots get ignored? Arab and African music is great. But, I can go to many festivals in Europe and hear arab and African bands play - for free. And when I go to an African festival, I definitely enjoy myself. Until 'they' ask me where I am from. Then I become the outsider who only looks like an insider. To the African from Africa - no Diaspora - I am clearly African American. To African Americans... it is the other way around. It is a good thing that I can decide for myself.

As a Dutch-owned African American, I would like to celebrate my own roots. City council has decided - or allowed to be decided - that Amsterdam Roots Festival does not have to properly represent the Surinamese and Antillean community. It is the strangest thing, as there are so many Surinamese and Antillean bands and other performers who would not mind earning some money representing our roots, to pick and choose from. Is Amsterdam deciding for African Americans to just accept their African roots, no matter that the Dutch king is still to inform us where exactly they stole our ancestors from? There is still much homework to do before I can "go back to Africa". Besides, I should 'go home' to the Americas first.

Oh well, it is a good thing that we still have Kwakoe. Uh... This year it is Kwaku Summer Festival, and we have to pay an admission fee. WHAT?! For those who do not understand the upset, let me explain. Kwakoe (festival) started as a soccer (football) tournament during the Summer holiday, for Surinamese children who could not go on vacation to Suriname nor afford to go out to expensive entertainment parks and the likes. So, a few Surinamese men got together and organized this tournament for our youth. It started small in about 1975, but it has become this very big deal. It has become so big that the city council did not just want a bigger piece of the pie, but full control.

From the new Kwaku website, I understand that none of the original organizers have remained aboard. It seems like a completely new organization harvesting the many fruits of the labor of the previous one(s). That creates room for white Pete to have full control and turn Black power into money. Take control, harnas the power, and make money. The result? I expect a much whiter Kwaku. Just look at Roots festival to see what they want to make of Kwaku festival in the very near future. How many Surinamese bands at Roots, again? ZERO. Keep that in mind while you look at the Kwaku logo. I applaud creativity, but when is the last time you saw an orange/blue woman? Or man? What about that logo screams Suriname or Kwaku? The logo is gay - yes, GAY - while Kwaku was a Black MAN. A real man. Not some drunk Little Wayne representing the Black boule.

The sheer irony. I double dare anyone to say Keti Koti. So, I can tell them to get themselves a double dose of Black Anon. When it comes to their thievery and perversion, white Pete is patient. I can call it as it is, because I told people about the danger of the Kwakoe success years ago. But, I was too caught up in my own drama to be able to predict that they would, of course, even prey on our children. Especially on our children. White Pete cannot be satisfied with a cut of the juicy pie. They will move in to take control, and the next thing you know perversion comes in. They will destroy Kwaku - no Kwakoe in 2011 - before they let Black people succeed and free themselves from their grip.

Harsh words just over an admission fee? Yes, as the Bijlmerpark in Amsterdam is a public park. Why seal it off just to collect an admission fee? I do not see them sealing off posh Grachtenfestival (canal festival) and asking the white yuppies to pay an admission fee. Also, the fee may seem low now, but what will it be next year? Besides, it is eight days of Kwaku. (We seem to have lost two weekends somewhere along the way.) We have to pay even if we just drop by to say 'hi' to someone? Because, that is what a lot of people do in the first weekends. Just drop by and see who dropped by as well. Or to just drop by and get some food before heading home. Or, picking up your child who just lost his soccer match. And, just like Dutchess at Dutch Guyana, I strongly object to having children pay for any festival. This festival came into existence in support of our youth, and now we allow white Pete to demand them - us - to pay a fee?

As the new organization has planned interesting entertainment for the youth, why implement exclusion tactics? They can organize all they want, but if the youth cannot afford to join in, then what is the point? It is not just about the youth. What happened to the relative higher poverty and unemployment of Black people in Amsterdam? All of a sudden it is okay to demand 'poor Black people' to pay up or get excluded? No, I am not interested in "Stadspas" nonsense. A discount means that you still have to pay. How expensive has security gotten to want to shake over half a million of extra money out of those 'poor Black people' who cannot afford to get out of Hell Land for a decent vacation in the Caribbean to nurture their roots?

People who do not see a problem with the new way of the same white Pete, will be able to enjoy themselves without complaintsjust fine at Kwaku. And I will drop by as well. I will even pay and remain incognito - yes, Black - and hear what people have to say about the money-making. We all know that in the last weekend over 150,000 people will show up. Assuming that the upset over the fee will die out before then. Anyway, this alone amounts to 450,000 euro. In 2011 Kwakoe was claimed to cost 200.000 euro. Too much according to city council who only wanted to 'invest' 100,000 euro. The same city council that still sits back and allows for massive inflation to cripple the Black economy. Anyway, if city council is sponsoring for at least 120,000 euro (inflation correction), if all those merchants pay 1,000-3,000 euro for a market stand each, et cetera... then why do we have to reach into our pockets to come up with over half a million euro?

If the money collected this year, will ensure a free festival next year, then I will show up all those eight days and pay admission fee twice. Brave words, because I know that prices always go up, never down. Whenever white Pete claims that a price went down, then you better check quality and quantity. Anyway, the only free festivals in Amsterdam will be the Grachtengordel Festival (canal festival) and the Uitmarkt (promotion for the new theater season). No need to guess, those are white festivals, and city council happily foots the bill for whatever is getting billed. Free police. Yet, Kwaku gets a bill for 'security'?!

Enough about white greed. They do not see their sickness as sickness. No wait, before I started to complain about admission fees to 'free' festivals, I finished an article on white Pete knowing exactly what is wrong with them. It will be up in two days. Like I said in the last post. We are the ones wasting time trying to fit the pieces of their sick puzzle back together. But their puzzle is only perversion. Put it together quickly, and let go. So we do not just see how they congregate to get us to pay admission fees to our own parties, but we will be able to do something about it. Well, some of us. Most of us do not want to let go of Black Pete - WHO IS WHITE - as an insecurity blanket.