own newspaper afro look in 1988 , organized our own Black History Month , and hosted annual meetings for Black people .
At the invitation of two American universities , we traveled to Chicago and Washington D . C . in 1997 , gave lectures at the University of Illinois Chicago and Howard University , met members of the African-American community and exchanged ideas about Black life in Germany and the USA . The African-American students were fascinated . They knew nothing about Black Germans and our history .
Today , you know more about your own history than I did back then . Fortunately , you can now draw on a number of published Afro-German biographies . Books about Black Germans , like Marie Nejar , from Hamburg , who became known under the stage name of Leila Negra in the 1950s ; Gert Schramm , the taxi operator from Eberswalde and survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp , and Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi , who was also born in Hamburg , went to the USA after World War II and became “ Managing Editor ” of Ebony Magazine , one of the USA ’ s most successful Black-owned publications of the 20th century . Massaquoi , who was close friends with the German Jewish writer and journalist Ralph Giordano is immortalized in the character of “ Mickey ” in Giordano ’ s novel Die Bertinis . And finally , there is Theodor Wonja Michael , the Black German who published his life story at the age of 88 . In his book , Michael tells how his father came to Germany from Cameroon around 1900 and helped build the Berlin subway . Michael also describes his struggle for survival in Nazi Germany in his wonderful autobiography . His career as an actor , journalist and official for the Federal Intelligence Service reads like an adventure novel . The knowledge that Theodor shared with us is invaluable and belongs in every German history book . Michael , who died in 2019 at the age of 94 , attended the national meetings of the ISD well into old age and he campaigned against oblivion throughout his life . Continuity .
You too had the privilege of meeting Theodor , listening to him , and benefiting from this knowledge . It is now your knowledge , and you must defend it vividly . I know it is not always easy , especially with your teachers , bosses , and sometimes even your white friends . The fear of reprisals or being seen as too emotional or too sensitive always resonates . I admire you for not shying away from this confrontation .
I can fully understand how tired you are sometimes of repeatedly explaining racism to your environment and how it affects your everyday life and your psyche . How tiring it is to answer the same questions about where you “ really ” come from . To fight against prejudice . To show gratitude for benevolent tolerance , although your tolerance is put to the test with every insult because of your skin color , every supposed compliment about your excellent knowledge of the German language or your supposedly inherited dancing skills . I would like to give you a solid tool to deal with these challenges , because I share your experience , your pain , but also your sense of achievement . I am here for you when once again someone grabs without permission , security staff at the store eyes you suspiciously or you are stopped by the police for no reason . When you are ignored , insulted , or hurt . I understand that every single comment or incident adds up until your frustration is ready to boil over . When storytelling fails to tell your story and remembrance forgets your ancestors , I will remind you that your lineage is an asset . I am glad that you are a product of a multicultural family with roots that stretch across several continents . Your various identities are not a contradiction . Your diversity is the future .
At the Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020 , I met an Afro-German friend . We have known each other since we were 14 years old . » Where are your kids ?« she asked me . » They are somewhere with their friends «, I said . » Mine too «, she replied , and we were both smiling at each other while looking over the massive and energized crowd of people : » Were we like that back in the 1980s ?« » Yes , only fewer .« Continuity . - And then we took a selfie .
I hope my words will help you . Please continue being confident and inconvenient , be sensitive and emotional . Get involved , question things . But also stop , listen , and respect each other . Be happy and be proud . I know I am because you are my children . To me your Lives Matter the most .
With love , your mom n
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