Joy Wielkens

Actress/ singer/ dramatist
“I was born in Amsterdam, and my mother is Surinamese. She passed a heritage of riches on to me: I not only know the Netherlands but also another culture. I have never felt as though I had a disadvantage. I have sometimes felt as if I did not matter. Black women are not prioritized.

I am often the only black woman in classes, cafés, or productions, and I am sometimes the ‘excuusneger.’ That being said, I have never experienced it like that; I have too much talent to be an excuse. It is such a different sensation to stand on the stage with nine other black women. We are completely different; the fact that we are all black women is perhaps the only common denominator. Yet this is a strong common denominator: we have all had the experience of being treated like an underdog.

This will not be a merry musical performance. After it’s over, I don’t think that anyone will say, ‘What a lovely crew of women who sing and dance beautifully!’ I hope that people will be shaken to their core and feel what the fight is all about.”