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11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

2/2 Johnnie Walker avoids taxes in Amsterdam

1/2 Rotterdam to tinker with district councils as well

31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

31/1 ZeeburgTV launched

27/1 Privacy activists to mess up loyalty card system

27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

27/1 Chrisis in de Baarsjes

26/1 Youth have positive view of districts

24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

23/1 KLM takes on crisis with new uniform

23/1 District office not squatted

21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

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Black front was a myth

30 June 2006 – Ten years ago, the Bijlmer was startled by the Black Council, which demanded a prominent place in politics. The image of a popular revolt with broad support turns out to have been a myth, writes researcher Thea Dukes, but this myth did help bring about change.

In 1995, a programme to deal with disadvantaged neighbourhoods was set up in the Bijlmermeer, with almost five million euro in European subsidies. The announcement of the programme served as a catalyst which brought popular discontent to the surface.

‘Concerned residents of the Bijlmer’ thought that the district was doing too little to deal with socio-economic problems. Also, there was discontent with the lack of consultation with ethnic minorities.

WHITE BOER
In response to these developments, politicians founded the Black Council, and organisation that tried to escalate a conflict with ‘white’ politics. For example, the social-democrat Wouter Gortzak was called a ‘white colonial boer’. In addition to the Council, the Foreigners Broad Consultation (ABO) was founded.

The entire country was rather shocked by what happened in the Bijlmer. The security service (BVD) kept a close watch on developments, because it was feared that groups might radicalise. Also, possible connections with separatist movements in America were considered.

In order to close the gap between black and white, Gortzak founded the Bijlmer Platform. Its chairwoman was Hannah Belliot, who would later become chairwoman of the district. Their strategy differed from the one of the Black Council: “First get the people in the high rise buildings to vote. Then you will get your black politicians”.

PREFERENTIAL VOTES
At that time, a popular revolt with broad support was feared, but in retrospect this was hardly the case. The protest groups where divided among themselves, and popular support was limited. This showed at the 1998 elections, when all ‘black’ or ‘ethnic’ parties failed to make the electoral threshold.

However, the revolt did have its use, writes The Dukes, who is a PhD student at the University of Amsterdam. Thanks to the preferential votes for candidates of the regular parties, the share of ‘black’ district council members rose from thirty percent in 1994 to 48% in 1998. By now, the discussions about black and white have disappeared. The district now presents itself as ‘diverse’ and ‘colourful’, writes Dukes.

Her article does not deal with the most recent developments. At the 7 March elections, ethnic voters helped the social-democrats secure an enormous victory, after which new discussions about the representation of minorities in local government arose for a while.

Thea Dukes, De ‘zwarte Bijlmermeer’. Agora 22(3).

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