This week’s episode is focused on giving you some insight into my experience as a Black American female expat in Iceland. Along with that, I share how Iceland has responded to the gruesome killing of George Floyd by a police officer in the United States. As one might expect, everything that is happening right now in the United States is deeply personal for me.
My Experience As A Black American Female
Whether I like it or not, how I am perceived in the world, starts off with my skin color. I have encountered various types of discrimination. Being the descendant of people that were first kidnapped and enslaved, then systematically oppressed is a burden that is hard to explain.
I often tell people that one of the unexpected positives of moving to Iceland is not feeling that weight of systemic racism. Yes, people in Iceland see my darker skin and sometimes stare a little longer than what is comfortable. However, the history of systemic racism toward Black people doesn’t exist in this country. It is not to say that there isn’t racism or white supremacy here. But it is vastly different from the overt, menacing racism in the United States. I don’t feel like having darker skin is automatically a strike against me here. I’ve been to many parts of the country and have met countless Icelanders who have been friendly, helpful and quite curious about my background.
Feeling Safe in Iceland
Is everyone’s experience with darker skin the same as mine here? Absolutely not. However, so many of the Black Americans who have moved to Iceland have one thing in common – we feel safe. We. Feel. Safe. Knowing this has allowed for me to blossom in ways that I can’t fully articulate. This podcast was started not just because I like this culture, history, language and nature, but also because of my interactions with Icelandic people.
My husband’s family, who are of course my family, welcomed me with open arms. Before coming to Iceland for my first visit, my mother and grandmother were afraid for me. In the United States, you can meet a White person that is kind to you, but their family might not be welcoming. In fact, they might even be downright racist. Both my mom and grandmother grew up in the Rochester, New York area. They learned the hard way that no matter how nice, well spoken and well dressed you are, some White people will hate you and let you know it. They didn’t want that for me.
My mother and grandmother assumed that in Iceland, a land full of White people, I would for sure experience racism overtly. While they were happy that this didn’t happen to me, they were still a bit skeptical until they experienced the country for themselves. My grandmother, who is now 90 years old, still talks about how amazing it was to come to our wedding in 2017 and meet Gunnar’s family and friends.
Feeling safe and allowing myself to blossom after moving here in 2016 has been a blessing and a curse for me.
Living in Iceland: A Mix of Guilt & Joy
When I’d see videos online of another Black person brutalized, I felt guilt for having the opportunity to live in a country where I am treated like a human being. Black and other People of Color in the United States are not afforded that basic right.
It is not unusual for me to feel scared for my family, friends and people I may never meet who live in the U.S., because they are constantly on guard. They are afraid of being the victim of police brutality, attacked by White supremacists or being treated differently when they are just trying to go about their lives.
I feel sadness knowing that for hundreds of years we have been fighting to have the right to be treated equally. Instead, we have constantly been met with hate and violence purely because our skin is darker.
I’ve cried more times than I can count throughout my life because of the cruelty that Black People have faced. I constantly have to suppress feelings like this just so I can get through the day. It’s exhausting. Yet, my feelings pale in comparison to the families that have directly lost people to murder or mass incarcerations.
Hard Truths About the United States’ Treatment of Black People
For me, George Floyd’s murder was not a surprise. I grew up learning about slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynchings, mass incarceration of Black men, and seeing videos of unarmed Black people being killed by police officers or White vigilantes. For many people around the world, especially in Iceland, George Floyd’s murder was the first time they were seeing such horrific treatment of a human being. Later they would also learn that this was not a one off event.
Along with feeling like it was absolutely disgraceful and inhumane, there was also a lot of confusion at first for people here. Questions like, “How is it possible that the U.S. society functions this way?”, “Why are Black men specifically targeted?” or people admitting that they knew there had been slavery but they thought all of that, including racial discrimination, was over.
Don’t get me wrong, not all Icelanders were ignorant of the fact that the United States oppresses Black people. However, so many were not understanding the magnitude of the situation. They were also unaware of their own bias. That is something I would like to discuss more in another episode because I believe there is a lot to unpack. I feel it is best to do that with natives in the country that have experienced it first hand.
Solidarity Gathering in Iceland for the Black Lives Matter Movement
Like other cities around the world, a gathering was organized in Reykjavík to stand in solidarity with the Black Americans fighting against systemic racism and to denounce the horrific murder of George Floyd. It was held on June 3rd, 2020. The speakers, a mix of Black Americans and Black Icelanders, shared about the history of oppression in the United States, and their personal stories. Many of the over 3,000 people that attended that day learned the hurtful truth. George Floyd is not an isolated event.
Racism is not just a problem in the United States. It is a global issue. While Iceland is not like the United States, it has its own issues regarding race that need to be addressed and dealt with.
One of the amazing parts of the event for me was seeing so many People of Color in attendance. I had no idea that so many Black people and People of Color lived here. Afterwards, some of us went out to eat together. It felt so good to socialize and meet new people who are also navigating this complicated world with melanated skin.
An Icelandic MP Speaking Out Against The U.S.’s Racist History
Right before the event took place, an Icelandic MP Logi Einarsson gave a passionate speech calling for the government of Iceland to condemn inequality in the United States. In part of his speech, he said,
“We simply must have the spine to speak directly with Americans. This is why I implore the government to criticise the systemic injustice that has pervaded the United States over the past 400 years and not least of all criticise the response of the current president, who is fanning the flames of chaos and is making matters worse.”
I agree with him and am happy that he made the speech. In addition to that, it’s important for Iceland to do some self reflection about their own bias and covert racism. The killing of George Floyd and the uprisings that are happening in response to it, are forcing many nations to do self reflection. Yes, you can condemn another nation of being unjust towards Black people. However, it begs the question, “Are you also guilty of this?” If so, what are you going to do about it?
Racism in Iceland: People Are Speaking Up
People of color in Iceland have started to speak out more about their experiences. There have been news articles, social media posts and private conversations. Last year I interviewed Aldís Amah, a mixed race Icelander. She shared that her experience here has been fine. As of recently, I had lunch with her. She said that she has been reflecting on things that have happened to her and others that look like her in Iceland. These reflections have been sparked by seeing others voice issues that resonate with her.
Many instances of microaggressions or overt racism started to pop up. I have no idea what it is like to be mixed race. I can only imagine that it adds a layer of complexity to your life, especially because most societies are trying to force an identity on you. Like I mentioned earlier, I plan to discuss this subject with people that are living that experience so you can hear directly from them what all of this is like.
Resources to Fight Against Racism
Resources for Being Antiracist
Many of us that want the change to come are no longer hoping that it will happen. We are taking action for it to become a reality. Change means a safer and more harmonious society for all of us.
I can’t stress enough how important it is for there to be collective action. The antiracism fight is beneficial to us all.
Random fact of the episode
I found an academic paper from 2009 by an Icelander named Krístin Loftsdóttir. It is titled “Negotiating white Icelandic identity: multiculturalism and colonial identity formations” and in the abstract she writes that:
“This article explores the construction of ‘white’ Icelandic identity in historical and contemporary discourses. The article shows that even though Iceland did not participate directly in the nineteenth century colonial project, the interwoven racial, gendered and nationalistic ideologies associated with the colonial project were very much a part of Icelandic identity in the nineteenth and early twentieth century as shaped by parallel discourses in Europe. Analysis of contemporary blog sites reflects the increasingly complex manifestations of racism in contemporary Iceland. Whiteness continues to be invisible as a position of power to many contemporary Icelanders. Interestingly, despite being few in numbers in Iceland, Muslims are increasingly constructed in the media as a threat in a similar way as in the rest of Europe.”
I have reached out to Kristín about interviewing her for the podcast. She is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iceland. While I did touch on this with Gísli Pálsson in my interview with him, I think it would be interesting to dive deeper about racism Iceland.
Icelandic phrase of the episode
Við erum öll í þessu saman – We are all in this together
As always, I appreciate those that have taken the time to listen to this. I am especially grateful those that are taking action to fight for an equal and just society for all.
I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode of the All Things Iceland podcast. If you think someone else will find this episode interesting and/useful please share it. My newsletter is dedicated to sharing even more fascinating information about Iceland.
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Þakka þér kærlega fyrir að hlusta (og að lesa) og sjáumst fljótlega
Thank you kindly for listening (and reading) and see you soon!
Amazing video…not only entertaining, but informative and extremely accessible. Thank you.
Excellent Podcast! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, story and experience in Iceland. I’ve been wanting to visit Iceland and this is very helpful! Thank you!
My pleasure and thanks so much for listening and commenting. I’m glad to hear that this has been helpful.