South African Filmmaker Pushed Down Stairs In Amsterdam but no Calling Out Racism

South African filmmaker Sibahle Nkumbi didn't expect to be the news - at least not this kind of news - when she headed to Amsterdam, the Netherlands for Zanele Muholi’s art exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum. Muholi's work celebrates the lives of LGBTI people in South Africa and highlights the challenges that still remain despite constitutional guarantees of freedom.

"The statistics of hate crime against black lesbians, part of the exhibition, show an increase of rape and murder in recent years."

Nkumbi was part of the crew that accompanied Muholi and, together with a colleague, were hosted by Airbnb. Upon checking out, the group was late, but what followed was beyond their imagination. An irritated Airbnb host pushed Nkumbi down the stairs and repeatedly referred to group as "you people", while also making disparaging remarks about Nkumbi’s dreadlocks.

Nkumbi was hospitalized and the incident was investigated by police.

The crew called this incident racist, but the quick denial of these women's experience is what this article tackles, which is about the very way racism continues to thrive.

The black female activists from South Africa spoke about the painful histories between their country and the Netherlands at the famous museum only to face the familiar violence from the Airbnb host. The writers here look into how Dutch social media reacted, from doubting them to police quickly dispelling any racism involved.