Website for this image
It’s a woman’s thing. Only a woman’s thing? A woman thing? That’s why both men and wo-men are so incensed about it. The fallout has been immense much more immense than the fallout from Mayor Reepalu’s alleged anti-Semitism ( and only he knows what is in his heart, and the Bible says that from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh….
Now it’s Sweden’s beautiful minister of culture that’s experiencing some bad weather and I’m 100% on her side.
Makode also speaks here and is presented here
Depending on which side you’re on, here’s a good introduction to the palaver : “Let them eat cake”
It’s that or On how the Internet tricked us with a racist cake
Almost everybody’s got something to say;
The Village Voice: Blackface, Genital Mutilation, and Cake Cutting in Sweden!
‘N–ger Cake’ Creator Is Black; So What?
Swedish minister denies claims of racism over black woman cake stunt
It’s now political and even the Swedish Prime Minister has been asked to take a stand
Bomb threat at museum in Sweden caught in ‘racist cake’ scandal
Some feminist perspectives:
“Racism has never been invisible”
Other perspectives:
“ Museum of Modern art helping to spread a racist message”
In Sweden, firestorm over cake art installation
Jezebel : Swedish Official Gleefully Cuts Racist Black Lady Cake, Delights Onlookers
NUH UHHHHHHHHH!!! The Swedish Mister Of Culture Is Caught . . . Cutting A N*GGER CAKE!!!
I wonder what SIZZLA would have to say about it all…
What would Gunnar Ekelöf have said?
What does enfant terrible Torbjörn Tännsjö have to say ?
Indeed, the local and international fallout has been immense, even monumental letters like this one
An Open Letter from African women to the Minister of Culture: The Venus Hottentot Cake
Afro-Swedes demand Minister’s resignation
Mood I’m in: Ama feeling a little choleric this afternoon due to a two days long lumbago which is still keeping me a little irritable, not to mention the pain, sitting in front of this computer. So I*ll try to make it short. The image of Sweden has been desecrated and Heaven forbid that I should just layabout and be silent. Giving Sweden a bad name… I’m not going to stand for it! Since I am a Swedish citizen have lived here most of my life and I’m at home with the language, culture and mores, here’s a fair attempt to take a closer look and hopefully we will arrive together at a more correct picture of where we are and where it’s at.
Black man speaking here and he’s telling you this: He’s never going to apologise for being himself.
If you think that he’s ever going to apologise,you can forget it and go back to sleep.
He has a right to shout since he’s living life according to the golden rule and in song it sounds like this
So, I’m afraid that you’ll just have to put up with the pre-amble to the holy ramble and before we get to all the talk that rimes with holy Söderblom, holy Nelson Mandela and holy Desmond Tutu, let’s all agree that “When something not right it’s wrong”
Suggestively speaking, the nearest you can come to that headline ( The Black Cake and the White Lady) is the title of Mingus’ classic cut The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
Sometimes if you’re black and blue it’s alright, but if you’re “White” and think it’s not alright, you don’t want to hear too much negative talk about racism being the status quo in your own country, as if you have to live your God-given life as a second class citizen in your own God-given country. Unless you want to believe that Sweden does not belong to God.
The song is always
” Black and white
Black and Night
To begin with I’d like to say I’m happy that there’s an African community in Sweden and that that community is alive, sensitive (some would say too sensitive) and responsive – as per Hillel the Elder’s dictum “ If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?”
In this regard I should like to exonerate the human being ( for me a brother) called Momodou Jallow, who was lastly a victim of some kids who know no better and now , more recently he has emerged again as some kind of leader or at least spokesman of the African collective (our local Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson if you will) – and you must know that every Black community has it’s Al & Jerry – and some in Sweden would say “Heaven help us all” if we had a Louis Farrakhan or Khalid Muhammad type over here! Now, since we are talking about Art vs. FGM others of us remember these words of Malcolm : ”Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That’s a good religion.”
Somehow, I seem to remember the quote as going “ Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on your woman, send him to the cemetery. That’s a good religion.”
Yes, I exonerate Momdou Jallow , although I do not agree with him – not at all about what he says in this his article Sweden: the country where racism is just a joke ….but that’s the way that he sees it and true to what he see he has cared enough and been brave enough to speak out – even though if on this occasion it’s the old story of
“and all he believes are his eyes
and his eyes are just telling lies.”
You ask me “ What is racism ?”
I tell you “ When the White man or the jealous White woman starts performing FGM operations on the Black Woman, that’s racism.”
But Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth only did it symbolically – and as we all know, for another reason….
The question being asked is Did Sweden’s Racist Cake-Cutting Scandal Accomplish Anything?
I should like to make it clear once more that I am on the side of Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, and that it’s perfectly ABSURD to demand her resignation. I wish that I could find a stronger word than absurd.
And I’m also on the side of the much misunderstood Afro-Viking artist Makode Linde. I know the artist’s father, he’s a friend from the early 70s; he also comes from non-racist stock – and the thing about Makode the son, is that when you see him or a picture of him and you’ve seen the father – the son is the spitting image of the father (just like Jesus said of his) – a chip off the old block….
Now if the artist had been “ White” ?
Ay, caramba !
The charge of racism would have been more explicit and there would have been talk not only about duplicity but that the Whitey & Whitey had got together and had connived to insult the Black Nation. And if his racial identity had been kept secret and it had only been been revealed later on that the artist was a Muzungu, a toubab, an Obronie, an Oyibo, an oporto ( some of the names for “the White man” in some of the African languages) then the fallout would have been even more immense, perhaps from across the Atlantic, Jesse J and Louis F would have weighed in HEAVILY
So let’s get this clear : although some people think it’s a stereotypical image of their mother/ lover/sister/ daughter/ wife/ child/ and ( just think of those who have undergone an FGM operation – and such an operation cannot be reversed we must understand that it was not just Makode’s stereotypical cake or a caricature cake (and the culture Minister’s cutting of the cake….(perhaps Makode could have made it a wedding cake , with the icing where the red lips used to be….?)
Makode speaks : From The Rush To Judgment Files: Meet The Black Artist Who Made The So-Called “Nigger Cake”
In case you have not clicked on any of the links, it’s back to the most preliminary fact that nearly all of the hysterical Swedish media coverage and the resultant discussions have omitted:
There were other cakes lined up, cakes made by other artists and the theme there at the Modern Museum was The limits of freedom of expression in provocative art.
So there they were, all lined up, other artistic expressions made of cake and our minister of culture in due course arrived at Makode’s exhibit and performed the operation…..
Bearing in mind the theme there at the Modern Museum, ( Provocative art and freedom of expression) was Sweden’s minister of culture supposed to arrive at the exhibition cut all the other ribbons and cakes, what have you, finally arrive at Makode’s excellent piece of provocation and refuse to do the most unkindest cut of all , because the cake was black?
Calling Art Racism Doesn’t Make You A Better Person
Controversial Afro-Swedish Artist Speaks, “It’s a Disturbing Picture, it’s also a disturbing subject
We are living in thes interesting times. this fallout itself is of historic importance in our cultural history. We haven’t got to the main subject yet the painful subject of FGM but as the pain in my lower back is getting a little unbearable just now, I’ll try to lay me down for a while and then go out for a little walk and maybe add a little to all of the above. In the meantime. I’ll leave you with these items below; and /if you don’t know Swedish you may copy and paste the link in google translate into your language of choice:
http://rodeo.net/const/2012/04/18/blackface-sarah-black-venus-baartman-makode/
http://avpixlat.info/2012/04/17/kulturministern-hogg-in-pa-negerstymparfest/#more-17688
http://www.svd.se/kultur/moderna-jo-anmalt-for-tartservering_7062421.svd
http://nucleargrrl.com/tag/makode-aj-linde/
http://www.nationell.nu/2012/04/17/makabra-bilder-lena-adelsohn-liljeroth-konsstympar-tartneger/
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8453386/calls-for-minister-to-quit-over-racist-cake
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17749533
http://nucleargrrl.com/2012/04/18/calling-art-racism-doesnt-make-you-a-better-person/
http://svenskatecknare.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/mer-smakfullt-att-vagra-antirasistisk-konst/
http://mobil.aftonbladet.se/debatt/article14700358.ab?partner=wwwredirect
http://www.unt.se/kultur/tartan-pekade-pa-oss-1725412.aspx
http://ekuriren.se/ledareasikter/signerat/1.1411663-rasismanklagelsen-ar-trams
http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/commentary/2012/04/19/the-big-read-let-them-eat-cake
http://www.svd.se/kultur/serier/berglins_5017.svd?date=20120421
http://www.sfbg.com/pixel_vision/2012/04/19/how-internet-tricked-us-racist-cake