Yes, there were Black people in Renaissance Europe

I find that spring time is the prep season for one of my deepest nerd loves: Renaissance Faires. I start pulling hand-made dresses out of storage, mending linen shirts, scouring local thrift stores for baskets and metal plates. When I enter this season again, I think of all the things I wish I’d known when I started, the words of encouragement I wish someone had given me. Maybe you’ve always been interested in Renaissance Faires. Maybe you want to know more about them. Maybe you need these words of support to give something new a try. Dear me, You’ve always loved history. Regardless of geography or blood, knowing how the past functioned, not in dates and names but in daily details, has always been fascinating. So this is not unknown ground for you. And Renaissance Faires are fun: spending the day outside, geeking endlessly about the minutia of history with other like-minded folk, doing hands on demonstrations for kids. There’s nothing here you don’t like. Sure, you may be the only Black person there, definitely one of a few, but don’t let that stop you. The chances of anyone throwing rocks at you are low. The chances of anyone laughing at you are high, but when has that stopped you before? And why not the European Renaissance? This is the moment when Europe formed itself as a separate place. Systemic, oppressive Colonialism starts here. Concepts of Democracy and Equality start here. These are concepts you want to explore, if only because they say so much about American-ness, …