ABSTRACT
Racial difference, the word race is consciously ignored: race may not have any space in public discourse. The combination of the anti-racist norm and the fact of visible blackness and whiteness create a source of tension in present day life. European surprise when faced with blackness is a major topic in sixteenth and seventeenth century travel records of the early modern meetings between white Europeans and Africans within Africa. Paternalism has been a long-term and successful strategy to manage inequality and to maintain order. Paternalism has continued to be practiced after the emancipation of slaves, after the decolonization of non-white nations, and after the end of racist regimes within the Netherlands. The concept of race as an influence on life in the Netherlands is difficult to find within research publications that focus on non-white communities. The transcripts of the interviews with black men and women in the Netherlands provide an insight to recent developments concerning narratives about race and racism.
