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again as an entirely new phenomenon,
this time dubbed "occupation babies," a
term referring to the several thousand
children of white German women and
African American soldiers (white US
soldiers fathered about 30 times as many
children in Germany, but in the public
mind, all "occupation babies" were
black). With the community structures
built up in the first half of the 20th
Century destroyed by National
Socialism, this new generation of black
Germans grew up in isolation, faced
with a society that was less than
welcoming. While black revolutionary
movements in Africa and the US were
hardly aware of a black presence in
Europe, these movements became an
important source of pride and
identification for black Germans (by
now, the recognition is mutual, there are
several exchange programs with the US
and numerous cooperations between
black German and African migrant
organizations in Germany). Patterns of
racism in Germany (and other parts of
Europe) are similar to the US in many
ways: blacks are supposed to be great
singers, dancers, and athletes, but
incapable of intellectual achievement,
both men and women are constantly
sexualized in media discourses, jobs or
houses one had arranged for by phone
mysteriously vanish when one shows up
in person, and racial profiling by the
police is common in all parts of the
nation. |
along the chance to use the sudden
attention to get their message across.
This is especially true for a vibrant
subculture that had formerly been
ignored by the mainstream: Hip Hop.
Though Americans might not be aware
of it, Hip Hop has become a worldwide
youth culture, especially taken up by
people of color. In Germany, the scene
is dominated by black and Turkish
youths. In 2000, forty of the most
important Afro-German Hip Hop artists
united in the project Brothers Keepers
(and their somewhat subdued sidekick
Sisters Keepers), aimed at fighting the
growing racism in German society.
Their first single addressed the racist
murder of a black man by a group of
white youths (only one of more than 100
killings committed by skinheads and
other right wing groups over the last ten
years) — the song, as well as the CD
following it, reached the top of the
charts and Brothers Keepers used their
popularity to initiate a variety of
activities supporting black youths and
refugees (who, independent of their
origin, live under pitiful conditions in
Germany). In addition, since the 1980s
there has been a national organization of
black Germans, ISD (Initiative Blacks in
Germany, engaging in political, social
and cultural activities) and an affiliated
women's organization, ADEFRA
(offering women-oriented activities and
building networks with women of color
inside and outside of Germany) — the
first Afro-German activists in the 80s
were female, they published a book that
remains the key-text of black Germany,
Showing Our Colors: Afro-German
Women Speak Out, the first publication
to express an Afro-German identity and
point out the long history of a black
presence within the nation. Apart from
various local activities there is an annual
national meeting of blacks in Germany, |
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Recently there has been a new
development, though: black Germans
have been discovered as hip by the white
majority, they are exciting, exotic,
representing a new, open, multicultural
Germany. This trend is largely a
continuation of old prejudices,
nevertheless it is the first time that the
existence of black Germans is officially
admitted, offering groups active all |