Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Sex was Central to Dutch West Indies Anti-Colonial Politics
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
22 Dec 2020
🖨️ Print Article

Margaret Kimberley · Sex was Central to Dutch West Indies Anti-Colonial Politics

Sexual issues were loudly debated among anti-colonial activists in the Dutch Caribbean colonies of Curaçao and Aruba, said Chelsea Shields, a history professor at the City University of New York. Among colonized people of color, the connection between sex and violence “was why it was so urgent to reclaim sexuality as a vital aspect of self-determination,” said Dr Shields, author of a book on the subject and a recent article titled, “Sex, Socialism, and Black Power in the Dutch Atlantic.” However, Curaçao authorities created an economic model reliant on tourism” – including sexual tourism, which remains a drawing card for the island. Shields’ forthcoming book is titled, “Offshore Attachments: Oil and Intimacy after Empire.”

Decolonization

Related Podcasts

Black Women Against White Supremacist Empire
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Black Women Against White Supremacist Empire
27 January 2020
Black women played a central role in the fight against European colonization, said Annette Joseph-Gabriel, professor of Frenc

More Stories


  • Michael Leonardi
    Cyclone Harry’s Mediterranean Massacre: At Least 1,000 Migrants Lost at Sea, Fortress Europe’s Deadly Legacy
    18 Feb 2026
    The Mediterranean is now the planet's deadliest migration corridor. Cyclone Harry exposed how European policies, not just storms, are driving the death toll.
  • Gary Wilson
    Dow 50,000 — and workers selling blood
    18 Feb 2026
    The Dow Jones hit 50,000, yet 200,000 people a day are selling their blood plasma to survive. This contrast illustrates the accelerated transfer of wealth from the working class to the ruling class.
  • Arturo Dominguez
    The Racism Behind the Cuban Hardliner Stance
    18 Feb 2026
    Racism explains the disconnect between influential Cuban American voices and the majority population of Cuba.
  • Rosa Miriam Elizalde
    Cuba. Option Zero
    18 Feb 2026
    Fidel Castro warned of a scenario in which Cuba would have zero oil, zero imports, and zero outside assistance. That contingency plan is no longer theoretical. It's being implemented in real life by…
  • Julia Kassem
    ‘Israel’: The Glue That Pieces Together the Maxwell-Epstein Saga
    18 Feb 2026
    Julia Kassem argues the Maxwell–Epstein saga is best understood through the lens of Israeli intelligence networks, tracing a continuity of espionage, blackmail, and media influence from Robert…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us