In Stockholm, where Swedish-style social democracy has positioned the country as a world leader in development aid and refugee intake, Johny hears the complicated ways African voices are marginalised. With Minna Salami, he compares her term ‘Afropolitan’ with his term ‘Afropean’, and discusses challenging European intellectual hegemony through ‘sensuous knowledge’. And with musicians Stephen Simmonds and Sofia Janberg, he enjoys a more rhythmic examination of the Black Swedish experience.

Johny finds himself at the fault-line of the 20th century. Berlin is where Cold War divisions between East and West and colonial histories continue to leave a mark on both German and African identities. Celebrated soul singer Joy Denalane shares stories about her upbringing near the former Berlin Wall, partying and crafting her musical identity in local nightclubs while having to dodge neo-Nazis from East Germany. And in the Wedding neighbourhood, internationally-renowned curator Bonaventure Ndikung discusses African art and explains the problematic context behind streets named after African countries and German colonisers.

Johny takes a Black Heritage tour along Amsterdam’s canal-lined landscape to understand how a Dutch national identity can champion progressive politics, yet remain unwilling to properly acknowledge four centuries of colonial expansion. Along the way, he speaks to Vincent de Kom, the great great grandson of Anton de Kom, anti-Nazi freedom fighter and one of the first to write about Dutch-imposed slavery in Suriname. We also hear from Akwasi, whose brand of hiphop melds Ghanaian and Dutch influence into a textured, sonic concoction.

Written and hosted by Johny Pitts, the producer and composer is Femi Oriogun-Williams.

A Reduced Listening and Afropean co-production.