Uncategorized

Black activists took Congolese art from Dutch museum streaming the activity on Facebook

A group that says it was recovering stolen African art in Europe went to the Afrika Museum in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and took a Congolese statue, all the while streaming their operation on Facebook Live.

According to the Afrika Museum, the activists took the statue in Berg en Dal on Thursday night but they were quickly arrested and the statue taken back intact.

But Mwazulu Diyabanza, one of the activists involved in what happened on Thursday night, took to Facebook to argue that their action was a “part of the recovery of our artworks that were ALL acquired by looting, robbery, violence”.

The clamor for reparation of African artworks in Europe and North America has taken decades and borne very little fruit.

However, over the course of the last few months after African-American George Floyd was killed by a police officer who knelt on his neck in the streets in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Black activists all over the world have protested racism in all its forms, from colonization to present-day institutional bias.

The activity at the Afrika Museum comes a day after a Belgian court has sanctioned the return of the mortal remains of Patrice Lumumba, the DR Congo‘s first democratically elected prime minister who was slain in a Western-backed overthrow from power.

Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday that Lumumba’s family will receive a tooth, obtained by police officer Gerard Soete because Lumumba’s burned body could not be identified and recovered in 1961. The return follows a plea by Lumumba’s daughter, Juliana Amato.

In like-fashion, Burundi and the DR Congo have asked former European colonizers Germany and Belgium to pay certain amounts as reparative justice for when the two European nations controlled the east African territories that became a sovereign countries.

Nii Ntreh

Nii writes on African culture, politics and the global Black experience.

Recent Posts

Postman drives 379 miles at his own expense to deliver lost World War II letters to a family

Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…

2 hours ago

Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed becomes Kenya’s first-ever female air force head

Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…

3 hours ago

All Benjamin E. Mays High School seniors gain admission to HBCU Morris Brown College in surprise announcement

Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…

6 hours ago

Meet the formerly incarcerated single mom who has gone viral for passing bar exam on first try

Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…

7 hours ago

New York attorney accused of hiring hitman to kill Zimbabwean ex-wife sentenced

A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…

7 hours ago

Cher, 77, who is dating 38-year-old Alexander Edwards, explains why she dates younger men

During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…

8 hours ago

11-year-old accidentally shot to death by 14-year-old brother with stolen gun

Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…

8 hours ago

16-year-old Ethiopian Hana Taylor Schlitz breaks sister’s record to become the youngest graduate from TWU

The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…

23 hours ago

Tahra Grant is reportedly the first Black woman to be Chief Comms Officer at a major Hollywood studio

Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…

23 hours ago

How Ashley Fox quit her Wall Street job and built a startup to financially empower those Wall Street would never talk to

Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…

23 hours ago

‘It wasn’t worth it’ – Tyra Banks says the first time she drank alcohol was when she was 50

Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…

1 day ago

Brazilian woman who wheeled dead uncle to bank to withdraw his money is being investigated for manslaughter

A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…

1 day ago

For the first time, Ghana’s Asante King displays long-lost treasure looted by British forces in 1800s

Ghana’s Asante king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has unveiled the long-lost treasure of the kingdom…

1 day ago

Colorado generated $113 million in Deion Sanders’ first season, here’s how

Deion Sanders is a retired American professional football and baseball player who currently coaches at…

1 day ago

Tiger Woods to receive $100M loyalty reward from PGA Tour: report

Tiger Woods is set to receive $100 million from PGA Tour Enterprises for his loyalty,…

1 day ago