This week's episode is focused on giving you some insight into my experience as a Black American female expat in Iceland. Along with that, I share how Iceland has responded to the gruesome killing of George Floyd by a police officer in the United States. As one might expect, everything that is happening right now in the United States is deeply personal for me.
My Experience As A Black American Female
Whether I like it or not, how I am perceived in the world, starts off with my skin color. I have encountered various types of discrimination. Being the descendant of people that were first kidnapped and enslaved, then systematically oppressed is a burden that is hard to explain.
I often tell people that one of the unexpected positives of moving to Iceland is not feeling that weight of systemic racism. Yes, people in Iceland see my darker skin and sometimes stare a little longer than what is comfortable. However, the history of systemic racism toward Black people doesn’t exist in this country. It is not to say that there isn’t racism or white supremacy here. But it is vastly different from the overt, menacing racism in the United States. I don’t feel like having darker skin is automatically a strike against me here. I’ve been to many parts of the country and have met countless Icelanders who have been friendly, helpful and quite curious about my background.
https://youtu.be/SebHO0flQiY
Feeling Safe in Iceland
Is everyone’s experience with darker skin the same as mine here? Absolutely not. However, so many of the Black Americans who have moved to Iceland have one thing in common - we feel safe. We. Feel. Safe. Knowing this has allowed for me to blossom in ways that I can’t fully articulate. This podcast was started not just because I like this culture, history, language and nature, but also because of my interactions with Icelandic people.
My husband’s family, who are of course my family, welcomed me with open arms. Before coming to Iceland for my first visit, my mother and grandmother were afraid for me. In the United States, you can meet a White person that is kind to you, but their family might not be welcoming. In fact, they might even be downright racist. Both my mom and grandmother grew up in the Rochester, New York area. They learned the hard way that no matter how nice, well spoken and well dressed you are, some White people will hate you and let you know it. They didn’t want that for me.
My mother and grandmother assumed that in Iceland, a land full of White people, I would for sure experience racism overtly. While they were happy that this didn’t happen to me, they were still a bit skeptical until they experienced the country for themselves. My grandmother, who is now 90 years old, still talks about how amazing it was to come to our wedding in 2017 and meet Gunnar’s family and friends.
Feeling safe and allowing myself to blossom after moving here in 2016 has been a blessing and a curse for me.
Living in Iceland: A Mix of Guilt & Joy
When I’d see videos online of another Black person brutalized, I felt guilt for having the opportunity to live in a country where I am treated like a human being. Black and other People of Color in the United States are not afforded that basic right.
It is not unusual for me to feel scared for my family, friends and people I may never meet who live in the U.S., because they are constantly on guard. They are afraid of being the victim of police brutality, attacked by White supremacists or being treated differently when they are just trying to go about their lives.
