Black History Month
You can find our content for Black History Month 2023 here.
“We are going back to that beautiful history and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements.” – Carter G. Woodson
In 1926, the US historian Carter G. Woodson launched what is now celebrated as Black History Month with a week of action. In February, Black communities celebrated the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, important figures in Black history. With BHM, Woodson wanted to broaden the focus to include the many Black people who have contributed to human progress. The aim is to make important details of history more visible that have been overlooked, ignored or even suppressed in historiography.
What can you expect from Black History Month 2024 here at the AStA?
Information about topics like:
- Why so many of us don’t think racism is a problem
- Information about the topic cultural appropriation
- Awareness for music by Black artists
- Book Prize Draw
Over the month of February, we prepared a lot of exciting content for you, which we will provide step by step.
So be there!
Why many of us don’t think Racism is a Problem:
“Racism is externalized both spatially and socially: More than a third (35%) of the population locates it primarily in the USA. Almost two-thirds (60 %) see racism as something that is mainly found among right-wing extremists.
On the one hand, both externalizations can be interpreted as relief strategies in that racism is defined as a problem of other societies (abroad) or as a phenomenon of the social fringes – i.e. not localized in oneself or the center of society. On the other hand, the less clear conclusion can be drawn that the interviewees recognize the existence of racism in German society, but locate it significantly more strongly on the right fringes or in the USA.”
Input: Cultural Appropriation
“In my twenties, I wore dreadlocks that reached over my butt and had a large tribal engraved on my upper arm as a reward for finishing my studies. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have seen either of these as a problem. I wandered through the Pergamon and Egyptian museums in Berlin full of admiration, without asking myself where the exhibits actually came from (quite a feat given the presence of an entire city gate) and sometimes boldly took the floor to speak on behalf of oppressed minorities (or on behalf of people I thought they were) because I felt I could put myself in their shoes.
I cut off my dreads by the end of my twenties. Tattoos are unfortunately a bit more stubborn. I still go to museums, but these days I feel more like I’m wandering through a treasure trove, and before I speak out on behalf of others, I now (hopefully) think longer than I used to or just keep my mouth shut. ”
Source: Distelhorst, L. (2021). Kulturelle Aneignung (1. Aufl.). Edition Nautilus GmbH.
parts of the book here
What is cultural appropriation?
The appropriation of marginalized cultures and their symbols by members or groups of the dominant culture in order to reinterpret them for their own purposes or, for example, to generate profits by transforming them into products. These symbols are robbed of their original meaning and made increasingly useless for the representation of marginalized cultures.
Examples of Cultural Appropriation:
- looted art
- unwanted speech in the name of others
- “Members of white majority society who use symbols, artifacts, or tangible and intangible goods from [BI]PoC cultures as fashion statements or to gain economic advantage”
Rooted in Colonialism
European powers in particular have suppressed cultures, “subjugated other regions of the world, expropriated land and suppressed, enslaved or killed the people living in these areas”. Their own European culture was always considered more valuable than other cultures.
Difficulties in the Consideration of Cultural Appropriation:
- assumption: a possible clear & unambiguous separation of cultures is possible –> hought: cultures are self-contained + the majority of people or groups belonging to the culture fulfill the ideas & stereotypes of this culture –> Facilitating the reproduction of stereotypes or racism e.g. “if, for example, someone is assumed to have an affinity for yoga just because he or she comes from India”
- difficult distinction between problematic (cultural appropriation) and intentional & unproblematic mixing of cultures (cultural exchange)
Prizedraw
Participation here
Registration for several books is possible, but only one book can be won per participant!
These Books will be given away:
all about love – bell hooks (book in english)
“bell hook’s modern feminist and anti-racist classic has been published in German for the first time. The central message: love is political.” (taz) (thalia.de)
A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks’ “Love Song to the Nation” trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarized society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering. Here is the truth about love, and inspiration to help us instill caring, compassion, and strength in our homes, schools, and workplaces.
“The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, renowned scholar, cultural critic and feminist bell hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a society bereft with lovelessness–not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love.
As bell hooks uses her incisive mind to explore the question “What is love?” her answers strike at both the mind and heart. Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for individuals and for a nation. The Utne Reader declared bell hooks one of the “100 Visionaries Who Can Change Your Life.” All About Love is a powerful, timely affirmation of just how profoundly her revelations can change hearts and minds for the better.
source: thalia.de
Schwarz. Deutsch. Weiblich.: Warum Feminismus mehr als Geschlechtergerechtigkeit fordern muss – Natasha A. Kelly (book in german) (Black. German. Feminine.: Why feminism must demand more than gender equality)
“With ‘Black. German. Weiblich.’, the PhD scholar, curator and visual artist delivers a long overdue intervention in the feminist discourse in Germany. Emotionally stirring, whether affected or not.” (“Missy Magazine”) (source: thalia.de)
Far too often, white women tend to understand feminism one-dimensionally and oppression singularly. What is missing is an understanding that Black women and women of color face different forms of oppression simultaneously. In this book, Natasha A. Kelly shows how elitism and racial prejudice have long dominated Western feminist discourse, preventing a feminism that is open to all. In order to change this, she uses personal and collective experiences and historical highlights to tell the story of Black feminism in Germany.
source: thalia.de
1000 Serpentinen Angst – Olivia Wenzel (book in english) (1000 serpentines of fear)
For me […] one of the most amazing reading experiences of the year. […] Quite apart from the subject matter, it is one of the best books of 2020 in terms of literary style.
Deniz Ohde, Deutschlandfunk Kultur (source: thalia.de)
A young woman attends a play about the fall of communism and is the only black woman in the audience. She is sitting with her boyfriend at a bathing lake in Brandenburg and sees four neo-Nazis approaching. In New York, she witnesses Trump’s election victory in a strange hotel room. She looks angrily and passionately at our rapidly changing times and also tells the story of her family: of her mother, who was a punk in the GDR and never had the freedom she dreamed of. Of her grandmother, whose loyal life brought her prosperity and security. And of her twin brother, who died when she was seventeen. Olivia Wenzel writes heartbreakingly, in many voices and with humor about origin and loss, about the joy of life and loneliness and about the roles that society assigns to you.
source: thalia.de
Celebrate Black German Musicians
Blumengarten
“Blumengarten formed in 2021 in Velbert, a typically sleepy little town in North Rhine-Westphalia. Singer Rayan and producer Sammy went to the same school, but tended to avoid each other there. […]
In his lyrics, Rayan sings about growing up, his first experiences with love and the pain thatcomes with it. Thematically, however, Blumengarten is always about one thing above all: hope. No matter how things turn out, the belief in a better future permeates every lyric and every instrumental. You could also say “versprochen, alles wird gut”. Although the boys have only been on stage for a year, they can already convey this feeling perfectly. After crying to “paris syndrom“, a (very nice) mosh pit is quickly initiated for “wiedersehen”.
Source: landstreicher-booking.de
Blumengarten’s YouTube Channel
Babyjoy
“When Babyjoy makes music, she sets feelings to music. By no means bold, completely unforced, more between the lines, surprisingly undogmatic, out of the situation.
The emotional field of tension in which the Berlin native moves lyrically and musically is too broad, too multi-layered, too complex for black-and-white depictions – there is a sad, critical note mixed into every joyful frenzy, even in phases of comprehensive dejection there is always a spark of hope.
With a soft and equally raspy voice, she blossoms as a singer and rapper in equal measure, flows quickly and takes deliberate breaks, controls driving trap beats here and decelerated modern jazz compositions there. Babyjoy’s lyrics, meanwhile, thrive on multilingualism: German, French and English-language passages are sometimes intertwined even in the middle of songs.”
Source: pulsopenair.de
Ami Warning
“[…] Ami sings about feelings like everyone knows them. And thus creates a touching intimacy between herself and her listeners, which can also be felt in her live shows with full band strength – in addition to her on lead guitar, there is also a guitarist, bassist, drums and keyboard. This is due to her deeply relaxed sound, somewhere between singer-songwriter in German and hip-hop beats. But also because of her lyrics, with which she stands by our side like a wise friend, someone who is still a seeker just like the rest of us. Take “Liebe is laut”, for example, a collaboration with Mola, with whom Ami Warning not only shares her origins in Munich, but also the talent to create entire vignettes full of tension in just a few words and to tell the story of relationships – and their endings – in a new and surprising way. Or the title track “Auszeit”: a hymn to shifting down a gear, listening to your gut feeling and allowing yourself not only to fight, but also to recharge your batteries. For the now. For life. For our time out.[…]”
Source: ami-music.de, Text: Aida Baghernejad
Luna Simao
“Runs that give you goose bumps all over your body. Lyrics that make you smile one time and think another, and melodies that you can’t get out of your head for days. That is Luna Simao.”
Source: Spotify.de
Vernetzung, Inspiration & Empfehlungen
Inspiring: Jayda G
Grammy-nominated writer, producer, DJ, environmental toxicologist, campaigner and broadcaster
Recommendation: Dokumentation Blue Carbon
“Blue Carbon – Nature’s Superpower” is a documentary that uses music and science to portray perhaps the best weapon in the fight against climate change. It is told from the perspective of Canadian Grammy-nominated DJane and marine toxicologist Jayda G (Jayda Guy), complemented by a soundtrack by rapper RZA, member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, and a guest appearance by Brazilian superstar Seu Jorge.”
Shot in the USA, Senegal, Vietnam, France, Colombia and Brazil, the film tells of the fairly recent scientific findings that the oceans can absorb much more carbon from the atmosphere than the rainforests. This so-called blue carbon is found in salt marshes and in seagrass and mangrove forests. It is a race against time to protect and restore these ecosystems to unleash forces that can slow down climate change.
(source: daserste.de)
Organisation: GLADT
GLADT is a self-organization of Black and of Color lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans*, inter* and queer people in Berlin. We are committed to combating racism, sexism, trans* and homophobia, hostility towards disabled people and other forms of discrimination on various levels. A particular focus of our work is on the topics of multiple discrimination and intersectionality, i.e. the overlaps and interactions of different forms of discrimination and the specific experiences that arise as a result.
We are committed to empowerment, visibility and self-determined spaces by and for Black, Indigenous and queer people of color. All our offers and activities are conceived and organized under the motto “Together for each other”.
(source: gladt.de)
Association: Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V.
Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V. is a community-based education and empowerment project in Berlin. Founded in 2012, the association opened its doors in March 2014 as a neighborhood library and has been a place of learning and encounter ever since. EOTO e.V. works together with other organizations to promote the interests of black, African and Afro-diasporic people in Germany and Europe. You can find literature, events, and news on their website.
(Quelle: eoto-archiv.de)
The name Each One Teach One was coined in the context of Black resistance movements critical of racism. It refers to the lack of access to formal education during the period of enslavement and colonialism and the need to pass on knowledge within Black families and communities. EACH ONE TEACH ONE (EOTO) e.V. is a community-based education and empowerment project in Berlin. As part of the federal program Demokratie leben!, Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V. has functioned as a competence center for anti-Black racism since 2020 and was previously funded in the years 2017-2019 in the structural development of the Federal Center for Racism Prevention and Empowerment of Black People.
(source: eoto-archiv.de)
Association: Initiative Black People in Germany Federation e.V.
The Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland Bund e.V. is a non-profit, registered association.
We have made it our mission to represent the interests of Black people in Germany and to stand up for justice in the migration society.
- We highlight and combat racist discrimination, disadvantages and exploitation.
- We offer spaces and activities for Black children and young people.
- We promote political, Black projects.
- We advocate an anti-racist stance in all areas of society.
(source: isdonline.de)
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We endeavour to listen to and learn from Black and other racialised people on the subject of racism not only during Black History Month, but all year round.