BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Showing Our Colors, Afro-German Women Speak Out

“As Afro-German women almost all of us between the ages of twenty and thirty were accustomed to dealing with our background and our identity in isolation. Few of us had any significant contact with other Afro-Germans and if we attempted to discuss our thoughts and problems with friends, it was always possible that we would alienate someone or be accused of being “too sensitive.” Meeting each other as Afro-Germans and becoming involved with each other has been a totally new experience. What several of us did have in common was a socialization unlike that of other Germans; aside from that, we were very different due to the variety inherent in where we came from (Berlin, the GDR, or West Germany), our familial and work situations, our sexual orientations, and our relations with the African or Afro-American part of our ancestry. A spontaneous affinity made it easier for us to move beyond our very diverse life situations and allowed us to enter into a common process: that of sharing our subjective experiences with each other, of considering contacting other Afro-Germans and connecting with them in similar ways, of setting about searching for our history, and, finally—what is occurring with this book—of going public. It was all very exciting, while at the same time it generated so much energy and courage that we overcame many personal and individual anxieties and obstacles. We concluded with a stronger resolve to no longer pass by other Afro-Germans with only a sideways glance.” –Editors’ introduction

Showing Our Colors, Afro-German Women Speak Out is the first book-length study of German anti-Black racism… Here are vivid autobiographical sketches as well as rich information about Germany’s colonial history and about Black life in Germany through the post-World War Two era.

Gathering together material from secondary sources and archives, May (Opitz) Ayim has constructed a theoretical framework that is filled out by the voices of women ranging from 22 to 70. Beside being a sharp indictment of German racism, the book also give moving personal accounts of changes in Afro-German daily life. The women who speak here clearly understand the ways German racism and sexism are intertwined. –Women’s Review of Books