| From Pennsylvania to Denmark. By: S. Evans |
I am a 39 year old African American male and I live in Europe. To begin my story, I
would like to give you a bit of my background. I attended a predominately white college
in Northwest Pennsylvania. Until that time in my life, I had very little exposure to "white
culture", let alone racism first hand. I grew up in a mostly black neighborhood all my life.
The few white neighbors that we did have moved away over the years. My high school
was also predominately black, except for a few white faces that stood out in the crowd.
Over the years I moved from place to place within the United States but always had a
yearning to travel and live overseas. I suppose it was the fascination of European culture
and history that drew me to it.
would like to give you a bit of my background. I attended a predominately white college
in Northwest Pennsylvania. Until that time in my life, I had very little exposure to "white
culture", let alone racism first hand. I grew up in a mostly black neighborhood all my life.
The few white neighbors that we did have moved away over the years. My high school
was also predominately black, except for a few white faces that stood out in the crowd.
Over the years I moved from place to place within the United States but always had a
yearning to travel and live overseas. I suppose it was the fascination of European culture
and history that drew me to it.
After an exhaustive job search, I managed to find a job in Denmark in 1995. I started working in the I.T. field, which
was growing tremendously at the time. Aside from the shock of going from a Capitalist society to a purely Socialist
society where the average person lived from pay check to pay check, things at first were new and exciting. Little by
little however, I began to experience the reality of living in a mostly homogenous society. I experienced racism like
never before. I had incidences such as old women inching away from me if I stood too close to them while waiting for
a bus, to people too afraid to walk in front if me late at night. I was even told once that I could not enter a nightclub
because I was black. I had never experienced these things in America so experiencing them in another country was a
total shock to me. Even with all these factors against me, I managed to survive and succeed in my field even while
working for Danish companies.
As in America, most of the racism in Europe stems from ignorance. I suppose that much of the racism I experienced in
Denmark was due to the possibility that I was assumed to be African. Many of the blacks living in Scandinavia are
refugees that have fled from Africa. As with many immigrants and refugees, they are looked down upon and
considered second-class citizens. A number of them have very good educations but are denied employment in their
field. In Scandinavia, denying a person a job based on race is illegal but the law is never enforced.
I now have a Swedish fiancée and during the summer months we travel quite often to Southern Europe. Last year, we
vacationed in Greece for two weeks. Walking on the streets of Southern Greece being an African American attracts a
significant amount of attention. Not only because of the color of my skin, but because I was accompanied by a
blond-haired woman with fair skin. I was treated very well and aside from the constant stares, we enjoyed ourselves.
was growing tremendously at the time. Aside from the shock of going from a Capitalist society to a purely Socialist
society where the average person lived from pay check to pay check, things at first were new and exciting. Little by
little however, I began to experience the reality of living in a mostly homogenous society. I experienced racism like
never before. I had incidences such as old women inching away from me if I stood too close to them while waiting for
a bus, to people too afraid to walk in front if me late at night. I was even told once that I could not enter a nightclub
because I was black. I had never experienced these things in America so experiencing them in another country was a
total shock to me. Even with all these factors against me, I managed to survive and succeed in my field even while
working for Danish companies.
As in America, most of the racism in Europe stems from ignorance. I suppose that much of the racism I experienced in
Denmark was due to the possibility that I was assumed to be African. Many of the blacks living in Scandinavia are
refugees that have fled from Africa. As with many immigrants and refugees, they are looked down upon and
considered second-class citizens. A number of them have very good educations but are denied employment in their
field. In Scandinavia, denying a person a job based on race is illegal but the law is never enforced.
I now have a Swedish fiancée and during the summer months we travel quite often to Southern Europe. Last year, we
vacationed in Greece for two weeks. Walking on the streets of Southern Greece being an African American attracts a
significant amount of attention. Not only because of the color of my skin, but because I was accompanied by a
blond-haired woman with fair skin. I was treated very well and aside from the constant stares, we enjoyed ourselves.
My fiancée and I plan to move to Stockholm, Sweden very soon. Compared to Denmark, Sweden is much more
integrated with different races. A significant portion of the Swedish population is in fact black. Perhaps I can finally
find racial equality there but I won't hold my breath.
If you've read this far, you're probably asking yourself why I didn't just return to the states after so much aggravation.
I'll answer that question with a question: Why should I have to?
integrated with different races. A significant portion of the Swedish population is in fact black. Perhaps I can finally
find racial equality there but I won't hold my breath.
If you've read this far, you're probably asking yourself why I didn't just return to the states after so much aggravation.
I'll answer that question with a question: Why should I have to?
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