On t. W. The perception that germans out why the head in blue hides has never been true and will never be to it some. People always ask me where im from that its not possible to be german and black. From the moment i go. It up and leave the house in the morning im confronted with racist views images and styria types of people. As a child our us wanted to have white skin because ive heard bed being black and not being able to blend in and i was kind of sticking out of the group and being you know different than the rest i didnt want to be different. I am traveling around germany to talk with other black people about our experiences with racism my 1st stop this happened thats where i was born into how. I had absolutely wonderful parents and that helped me a lot in difficult situations. I mean i always had a lot of friends about what i do remember. That we played these funny games like whos afraid of the black man and tender little negroes thats called in german so and i remember that sometimes duran after me and said yeah nothing can hurt in Something Like janice an effort kenyan as an african and the problem is that african men something bad. At 1st met sammy did looks when i was a teenager and have today hes one of germanys most successful reface a hip hop artist. But for the. Record. Im afraid i. Would say. Look theres always a little zone thing. Ive come to see semi and its doing well as you. Say the angle at which this had a number of top 10 hits and assault all the a 1000000 records. Just like today he also produces other musicians. Just. As he forgets a kid i wanted to be white and cute thats right. Yeah as a kid white and as a teenager i really wanted to be black. Thats nice only still needs to not have this ambiguity it seemed so clear cut like on the white side and white people just knew they were black people did to me i felt like i was in the middle i grew up in a white family home in a white neighborhood it was definitely a challenge. The challenge of really does thats mission for me the feeling of being caught in between is something imposed on you from the outside i mean people always say dont you see taunton conscious blake and why do you feel. Me out effect this yourself i dont find it unusual why should i have to shoot some of the inside inflicted by me against few one thing that cost me a fair amount of confusion right from the start was that i have straight hair. Just to spite me and was of a machine and when shooters and when she could sneak going on top of the beast and in grade school if some kid called me the n word and i reacted defensively or aggressively theyd say hey youre not really a nigger because your hair is straight with me so for me that was like ok im dark enough to get called the n. Word but my hair isnt frizzy or curly enough for me to have the right to get upset about it because to me that was the 1st contradiction that was imposed on me from the outside world and thats a vote a song for us some about humans didnt you its often in some of the sheen of that so i told him i wrote the song in 2008 at the time i was reading a harry potter book to my son in the evening at bad times and one night he said he wished he were white because then he could be like his friends means movement and all you have to do is paint that thing on his forehead and wear around glasses and hed look like harry potter and the still need to be loved thats lindsay also we have reports and. That made me realize that theres an acute shortage of dark skinned superheroes so i wrote the song and made a really nice video to go along with it. Oh musician would you assume that i have. Advised you to please god dont think that. Im sitting down. When they leave that little voice that. You know. I might as well like and i dont like no lenger thats just. What the last guy. Did not know me and im asking no maybe a long one sometimes something thats a little like. Much money like im like yeah i think life is great. Its a high i can remember when i was a teen i was into novena and thats when i started going to parties and the other kids would say. Why youre listening to that and you should be listening to black music i did and i liked it more and then it was a bit music scene whatever that means hip hop and r. And b. Album from the school on down and is a c. In the and then all of a sudden yes a black person a part of the majority of im up on my own vomit and i may hide and then when these positive associations. With its will you have some of these clothes fell from a shingle i think thats one of the main reasons i became who i am and its going where this rep thing thats asked of a rap was the 1st thing that gave me a Home Court Advantage so to speak im for tight houses i just had to let my pants saying a little bit lower paying less in this case my cap to the side and move like this was on the side and everyone was into it it looked authentic and it did well with my exotic status this cause if i did graffiti deejaying collected records started producing rapping and and beatboxing all the hip hop disciplines except breakdancing that was too much work so youre telling me i. Just body type would get upset. Only with words. As a journalist i dont have a Home Court Advantage. When i decided to become a journalist and when i became an anchor i was actually i think the 1st female black and and germany i didnt have any role model is. Going to be not a big deal to be tethered to come for me its really important that it should really you know when this witch on the t. V. That might see me and think oh right i can be on t. V. And read the news and i dont have to have a job which was filled the face of stereotypes for me that would be great if i could help brain dump areas in that sense. That people have been living in germany for 400 years today they numbered about 1000000 from me in cologne ive come to see. Do support them yeah. He was born in 1925 and belin. Why did your father come from chemical into germany back then coming one by cameroon was a german colony. You need one for you. Just as people used to dream of going to america. At that time many Young Africans wanted to come to germany. Says there is no such thing as what we know called racism. At least not as we know it today. You see you can only started to take shape when the Young African started asserting themselves for instance by marrying german women oh. Oh and the reaction was there taking away our women. And prince in the name one said the following way. Sam now you appeared in ethnographic exhibits also known as humans zeus what was it like stanza for the imagine human being those of us being exhibited like objects literally exhibited worth the press and from what they supposedly represented of namely africa without ballast skirts drums dancing songs. Until and. Didnt and the idea was that people under splay were foreign exotic. And micheaux ing spectators what their homeland was like this and. Basically it was just a big show. Me. As good im going to get number out of school evidence how crazy istead us a german was supposed to imitate this will perceive. Africa i was just such a huge continent. And hes a consummate. With a high trot so i was sort of a blank. So of course i should be able to do that because thats how it is its in my blood and lets talk about the nazi era its so hard to imagine because black people would obviously attract attention in every genre that was so racist thats right as a member of the kind and. We didnt need to wear yellow star. Everyone to see we were aliens. Did you know a lot of other black people in germany oh yeah sure everyone knew everyone and there were so many colonial films made back then but thats when many of us would meet up as part of the cast. Yet thats me. This is mine and thats my closest and its not like the fact of the shot a close up of me. And everyone who was in black was in that film. And. It was a good day i was 16 at the time. And it struck me i thought my god were all here together. Because they could take us away without anyone noticing or not. Is oath. And that thought weighed very heavily on me this. Is good thank god i never came to paris but then. We were too few in number to matter to the nazis that. Went and i know you know all contact with white women but by snow for women horrible human skills to give is not available i would have been sterilized. And i might also have been charged with racial defilement being in the house and shot and. So far i would have you say that you took great care not to get too close to white women or girls. Was it like how you being all trying to become invisible how can we imagine what it was that see men the slaves think thats the right word invisible i mean could it become the only of course with a face like this i could never completely disappear. But i tried to. I think have sense who i really did thats who and skippers i am the main thing was to keep your head down can your mouth shut. I made sure i did that. To the point that i started to start on the social. Yeah i started terribly well been understood listening to the difficult often horrible things you experienced. How did you find the strength to go on what someone yeah the w. C. Well i have to say with gods help. I became a religious person the league is a bunch of gold. Thats what you hope. To do when youre michele always says theres nothing in the german constitution that states what a german is supposed to look like but some people havent gotten the message for them were still exciting. But i was a child complete strangers would touch my hand say it feels like a birds nest. Right. Way to my god its good to see you still see my watch breakfast t. V. Every morning i turn on the set and think its like an afro german woman on german public t. V. Be as were so proud of you. Oh youre just such a wonderful job it does with as we watch the story back to your mate look at your hair we have to talk about that yes we do. Well work in some coconut oil. Paints a lot of you got to have somebody like it is enough now i love your curls ok then i would always wake up the movies are good these are fucking hurls. Now im really happy to be talking to s. That dont call out the phone out of calls a number all clearly have magazine thats how sometimes i think that black peoples has really politicized its like a political statement whether you have to head down all barrack naturally the stereotype is that the hair is messy and wild that doesnt go over well in the professional world but also how the afro hair just isnt acceptable. Our Society Still doesnt comply with our ideals of beauty. Look at beyond saying shes a black woman that shes a performer of the shes the embodiment of empowerment but she still wears a straight blond we do you mean its kind of that you know ive met women who work in law offices in places like that we get into trouble if they wear their hair naturally that kind. Not traditionally hot off to the south can you tell us about the natural Hand Movement does is this sort of fell into it. Its about allowing people with afro textured hair to wear it naturally without causing a fuss or having to feel selfconscious. Thats what life is about accepting yourself be a good set of names as absence of times. Change. Just be comfortable in your own skin thats the goal but its not so easy. I think the problem is that if you see all these stereotypes about africa about tribes about being primitive of that barrier a native underdeveloped. Its good to see you. Part of the problem minding images from the days of colonialism and the lin dance to streets named after german nice and colonialists it was c. And berlin in 884 that european nations had a conference when they carved up africa and to colonies. I mean had a street festival aimed at forcing the city to change the name from was. Eat. I am here was just a crazy akins political scientist an activist why its important for you to remain districts the term is one of the oldest german words. Person box should look at the root of the term it has election and the greek roots morris and morris and yes that means doc or black but it also means stupid even primitive and so you see already in their origin of the word that there is this idea of like if there are 2 events if we look into the history of the street maybe if we see that the street was named quiet its name in the context of the brandenburg involvement in the transatlantic enslavement and to prize how would you say this germany deal with this colonial history i think is a huge problem. A lot of aspects of german korean history are not widely known we cant even begin to understand National Socialism without looking at the colonial and to see this because we find that they are ideological political but also personal continuity. Linking german colonialism and National Socialism. Please and i set off to uncover some of the traces. Off colonialism in the german capital. Ok i think i moved to berlin 10 years ago but this defers time im seeing this fresco can you explain what im seeing so we had a house and this here shows us the trail of tobacco so you see and slaved african men harvesting tobacco then enslaved African Women packaging the tobacco then it is sorted in a way that you know it as a white overseer and then its package further its made ready for shipment and you see one of the white overseers is already lounging and having a smoke but then you see the ship departing for them not to see its berlin because you see the silhouette of the german the french dome so this clearly explains the source of the wealth that was used to build this place right but of course it also implicates the people that frequented here and the suffering that is also depicted here. Sick people often defined by this skin color the well known south african artist robin vote place with the stereotypes he experienced apartheid in south africa now hes been living in berlin full force changes. I. Get to know you to see you i can see you working on a new p. C. s. I have a work in process and its a world guy some knowledge in this is about myself african i did. And of course the african is a strong some bull its interesting that you chose here of course i can identify with that but what does i mean look at what role of detail a for him play for you he became a way to to classify a place between souls were placed through he to. Who did you pick to kind of he stand and before the racial category. Saying that if they go through my head they say its f. I have i am exactly the public categorize us as colored always mixed race. So if the cold winds we invaded find you here because you guys as white how were you classified as a half mom because if i discuss it as if it is a person of mixed race and so i might be and so my grandparents and. In many ways my cultural background is quiet complex because i you know we dont associate ourselves with black and neither white. Sorry. I know you view it as black d. C. s german content what i think is in the german gone thinks im viewed as out of oh really so thats actually pretty interesting. I use off as a way to subvert but also to to play with. On the valve will watch these kind of cultural labels off. This particular piece reading speed of maple everything needs to be defined its going to be categorized and im trying to knob explore the notion of something that is completely in this something that is going to be tea and you find. I was born in 1981 and in the early ninetys we had a serious off budget of racist attacks and germany and also placed in hot and high us to get it and selling it was really backed by stand this kind. During the attacks. It was really heartbreaking to see and it frightened me so much as a child. And i think thats something that is also very scary if you look at the recent vice and racist attacks on refugees in germany and so few of the people who take them were caught and put on trial and i think thats a very dangerous message to everyone who experience racism because it means ok you can be attacked but you know you can attack people but you can get away with it in that it gives us the message ok people can do to you whatever they want they wont be put on trial. And that scares me a lot. About us an apprentice roof working in the east end german state of sex and the im hot he hasnt been living here for very long in 2013 he fled book enough oxygen for germany his job gives the 28 year old some stability was but otherwise his life is often difficult recently he will speak not by of right wing fuck i mean you send the town of war where he lives as a hero 8 months ago you were beaten up righty a tell us about that. I listen to this little and saw a man that if with a woman in charge you when he said why didnt you look at that he sure does using the n. Word for us to look at this black piece of trash with nigga i didnt say anything about ownership i went to the counter to pay this call and he went like this. And i said this is what do you want from me and he says ill show you a school i went over there and he hit me 3 or 4 times like this. You know muscle history of how bad a way you had it in a bowl i list to today i felt a lot of pain in my stomach and i come down the block for about 2 months. And were not holding. On but how does it feel when no one steps in to help you when youre being beaten up and you often treated with hostility and its hard to get and im a how do you cope. But you know because youre so im always afraid when i go out now going to so to see who can i go to work im afraid of what might happen along the way this road people make just just like im going to cut your throat that is seeing and they shout go back to where you came from shocking people do that to me every day shockingly. This is the courthouse in the town of stendhal its where the man who beat up he says some try. How do you feel knowing youre about to see the person would take you as he has shown above and im not afraid. I cant wait to see him again and look into his eyes dizzy and fall saddam is due. To the attack on who has a long criminal record was found guilty of assault and sentenced to 10 months in jail but he appealed was just the reason for his hearing. The. Cameras arent allowed inside the consulate that. Leaves. Us to for all of us the conscience. Isa how was it for you today. I never expected it to go so well an abuser was very pleased to hear mr. C. Ter. The conviction is up helps but the attacker intends to appeal again. Once you wake up in the morning and you switch on the radio or you switch on the t. V. Youre confronted with all these stereotypes about africa and. Its really difficult to talk about racism in germany because once i experience it when i talk about racism people say oh youre too emotional youre overreacting the company true im sure the person didnt mean it that way so they dont really take it serious and that its really hard because i feel like i am not taking serious but my experience its. Worth it because the secret. Well those racism without regret because he said all is. And listening and the author of display is the artist and writer. The story shes originally from particle but has lived for many years a 1000000000. For me it took a lot of effort to Research Lecture