Resources for swing dancers

If not for the Black community in the USA, the Lindy Hop dance & this community would not exist. The dance originated in African American communities and those people are the reason we dance Lindy Hop and enjoy blues and other swing dances today.

Black American dancers and musicians made a vital contribution to the growth of the dance (and still do), so we honour and appreciate their role in history and society, and try to be an ally.
One of the things we can do, as dancers & teachers enjoying a dance with Black roots, is to educate ourselves about the level of systemic racism that exists in the world (in Europe as well as the USA), check ourselves, and listen to Black and other people of colour and their experiences.

Want to get educated? A few ideas to get started:

• Obsidian Tea from Grey Armstrong  is a good place to learn about black culture and making spaces more inclusive 
• Being Antiracist from the National African American Museum of History & Culture
• Seeing White, a Scene On Radio Podcast series series exploring what it means to be white
• The PBS history series The African Americans Many Rivers to Cross on Youtube
• A great list with resources on books, tv shows, movies, and websites which cover black lives and black issues
• Under our Skin - What do we mean when we talk about race? from the Seattle Times

Dutch resources to engage, learn and educate:

• Wit huiswerk
• The Black Archives
• Nederland Wordt Beter
• Gedeeld Verleden, Gezamenlijke Toekomst Rotterdam
  
   

Updated links 2022:

• Collective Voices for Change address the issues of racial inequalities and cultural appropriation in the Jazz dance community in Europe and around the globe.
• Black Lindy Hoppers Fund bridges the gap of knowledge, access and development for Black Lindy Hoppers.
• Grey Armstrongs blogpost seires 'Let’s Talk about Lindy hop and Blackness' over at iLindy.
• The mission of the Frankie Manning Foundation is to carry on the work and the spirit of Frankie Manning in spreading the culture and joy of the Lindy Hop.
• The Track Podcast, interviews with Ryan Swift, don't miss the shows with Dawn Hampton and Norma Miller. 
• The Roffaswing Library is a true community library for and by dancers who share their books on dance, music, history and culture.

Focus op Rotterdam:

• Links over het Rotterdams slavernijverleden
• History Matters: 13 km wandelen door het Rotterdamse koloniale verleden via de app van Rotterdam Routes

TBC drop us a line!