The Blackhouse
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The Blackhouse centres the African-NZ experience. Sharing stories, observations, great music, history, news, interviews, business news, politics, and events from our diverse communities in Aotearoa.
This platform centers the African New Zealand story. Africans have been present in Aotearoa via post WW2 organised migration policies, for 60 years in 2020. First starting with the S.C.A.A.P (Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan) international students in 1960. Sadly, there is very little documentation or captured history about all of us. The Blackhouse with the use of media and music seeks to contribute to the documentation by telling our stories. We have more recently grown into a diverse community, in some areas two generations deep in other areas only one generation deep. However we are often not recognised as having been here for that amount of time. Many today are born in Aotearoa or arrived here as toddlers, tweens or teenagers. All with many different and varied stories that need to be added to the history of Aotearoa archives . The Blackhouse seeks to document our community, on many different levels, but inclusively and with music. We do live interviews with people from our communities (Africa is a Continent not a country) making space for their stories, their projects, their businesses, their careers, and their concerns, because The Blackhouse is also their space. Everyone has a story to tell, but all too often, as everyday people we have felt invisible, ostracised or not heard. Our Crew: Our tech desk crew member is an international music producer and rapper who has already worked with some international Artists and on international projects - his moniker is Somewhere and his background is Tanzanian/ Aotearoa., born right here in Wellington. Our hosts are Liya (Tanzanian/Aotearoa) and Tommie (Ethiopian/ Aotearoa) We include African-Australian artists in our music line up because Australia has been one of those migration pathways from Aotearoa, for all the same reasons that others Kiwis have traditionally travelled there. Other than seeking employment in a larger economy, many African New Zealanders also have travelled to Australia to broaden their music careers, and collaborate with African-Australian artists. This trend is only getting stronger. We talk about things that are topical and relevant to African people in NZ, but we are also inclusive of the rest of the African diaspora on our show already having guests from Barbados and America. We recognise the Diaspora as being a global phenomenon. .Here on the Blackhouse we are working towards building positive, safer spaces with our dual identities, our migrant backgrounds, our breaking down stereotypes about African people in Aotearoa & telling our stories as only we can. Liya, Somewhere and Tommie. |