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Black Gaza artists fight racism with music

Black Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still suffer racism, but the artistic community has a musical response.
Ahmed Saleh and Al-Badia band performing the Palestinian dabkeh and daha during a show held by the Tarabin Bedouin tribe, al-Maghazi area in the central Gaza Strip, April 2021.

Black Palestinian artists in the Gaza Strip still encounter racism and discrimination. They face harsh mockery for the color of their skin and curly hair, and many Palestinians refuse to marry them. 

Some Black artists in Gaza have been experiencing racism since their childhood. Even as adults, when they stand on stage to perform the traditional Bedouin songs known as “dahiya,” they receive negative comments and insults in regard to the color of their skin.  

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