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 me history because there was nothing that was presented to me in school for example what told us the silencing play in your eyes i think in the last words that ive been doing im very concerned with this question of silencing and speaking and with the with the fact that its not that we have not been producing no words or have not been speaking but we believe in a system that constantly silence or make these knowledges. Invisible racism is really with the for equally for me a ghost that our society never took care of and never cared because we live in these very white Narcissistic Society that dont want to deal with it and then she said well before me you are not black i dont think that you are. And she said that in a way as a. Souse do me a favor when did you. Start feeling that no i dont believe this dominant narratives you just talked about when did you fade out a set no not this cant be it there must be something you know. I dont know if i can tell you. But i believe it has always been there. Now as a mother i when i am with my children and i hear them bringing the topic of racism even though they are 2 and 4 or 5 it just turned 5. It is still i i see that the aware that is not right and its extremely complicated to explain such a brutal history and this is the trial of black people and people from many other than aspergers who went through similar experiences collective experiences that you cannot explain and apply any logic to something that is so absolutely love illogical and not address it in a way because this is aggressive yet i called it i do not want to be better. Lets now turn to a question that effort more times than i can count how come your parents are white the and start my biological father came from zimbabwe my but your mother from germany directly out i was born in hamburg i was adopted by german speakers. And for me they are her parents. This is india posh she too was adopted i grew up in best germany she grew up in the east but were inside an old guard tower from the days of communist east germany the war divided berlin until 1989 in the Us Biological father is from guinea he was studying at the university of flights that have any medical biological mother but she was married and her husband was in jail nevertheless he said he could imagine raising the child. Ever stop money as a his but he didnt know that i was going to look the way i look as if that i would be a black child. On his arm on her guard because im loose and this man was a hard core right winger. And its not my not what he got out of jail soon after i was born. It was obvious that i wasnt a white child. And had hired and he tried he attempted to kill me. Or and my left him with my biological mother saw him dangling me out the window bag so in all likelihood she said before the child is killed i will send her away. If he had and at some point she decided to put me up for adoption. Out of 2 thirds of. Us who hired a lie in the last move wardens for i think that subconsciously in any case you never forget that you were abandoned by a biological parents warn you were born and were unwanted you take that with you to your grave the sheer kin to me it still seems unfair to just give away a child like that. And to enforce over to him. A. Coward joyce oh poor wake up. In the other works as a doc trainer and has adopted several neglected toss. Weve asked and how was it for us to play school oyo yardley problematic via dustins thought one problem was the teachers who thought we shouldnt eat with the other kids to finish with an argument as. We were supposed to wash our hands really thoroughly as if something could rub off on the other kids. We have all complete seen for months and thousands who are voters going to the concerts and we werent allowed to nap near the other children. d or and a minute and wouldnt should my parents did everything to protect us. They gave up everything they had to be there for us kids they fought for us they did what they could and i think it was the right thing that they may have to inspire lenny. In the hospital is another thing you hear so often oh adoptive parents can never be the real parents but that is complete nonsense you really see the loss they have for the children just like any other parents. Absolutely they protect you and do everything for you and your family whether someone gave birth to you are not absolutely for me blood relationship is meaningless here behold new groups for one traffic are good for me too and for me its immaterial them in it and as my parents told me about how they drove to the Childrens Home in life where i was. And i crawled straight into my papas arms. For me it was clear thats my papa and thats really great but as my pappy you wouldnt yard as well to this to tire churn and thats how it was until the end we were really close. Best resuming a father no. It wasnt until the age of 17 that indian i met her biological mother. Jones and we had no one to go off and. We went for a walk and she said that in the interest i didnt want you to turn out so black yes as i was that was the very 1st sentence i heard from my biological mother. And her age and i said. Ok well as of what to expect. d from. Talking with other effort germans about our experiences gives me strength thats one reason why im a member of the initiative called black people in germany every year they want to end your meeting this is the 1st time im attending. The mother by the by the crowd through the chef in the kitchen when zinah alf garden by ness the post turbines a hole in the house and temperate too its a control issue its put off sharon to do well to or is holding us on taney is right and up to this and around 270 people have come to the initiatives and you only to others hearken to who post from over 30 years ago. Psychedelic s. And the steering committee. If that diet you tell me how was the initiative found it. It was thanks to 2 happy coincidences the 1st audrey lord was in berlin because my man who was ok dont you know she was an American Writer from the black feminist movement in the us but she was teaching in berlin with you even because over the course of her time there she met a lot of black women who came to her readings you know discovered that they didnt know each other. So she hit on the idea of connecting them so that they could exchange experiences and come on down come she also brought out what i believe is the 1st book of stories told by black people about black people in germany. To the secret mission to mention that i am the black not everyone is come to read aloud at initiatives me to you and when i look at a white man i mean. Really what im. Doing in the glowing of the night when i think about it. This is the theme of this meeting is somehow meant in self care what does it mean. Because i can paul meant to mention empowerment means showing black people especially young people there was a lot they can do with themselves from that they can take charge of a lot of things develop themselves and establish new perspectives of self care within a society influenced by racism and entails ensuring that you as a black person stay healthy protect yourself and grow stronger in the mission its a mixture it involves politics but also drinking smoothies or doing yoga or sports or. The going to speak. Given a somewhat sitting next. To go. And to 2011 he played in the German National team. Yes. And a day in the life of someone. And given even custody of us the very 1st black German National player but you were also one of the 1st i know to give you as i started playing for germany in 2001 how was that he was focused on some of the every possible why are you so much for the cost it was more half and what does that mean because by you know much about. It this is a i was the 1st really blackwaters was the 1st black africa and thats why. I felt it wasnt easy for me back then to decide. I could play from ghana i was told off for going back to have decided to play for god the time of golf as the figure sputum i was in uganda but then they didnt play much on the go i went back to germany and germany was very insistent and at some point i said ok ill play for germany you know that was very rewarding very interesting it wasnt easy but it was nice sure but what wasnt easy is keep some people some idiots using who dont want to accept us and that was my big problem and i was also to see my you do something for your country but youre still the black i am what i was 6 heres an example i was team yourself after the world cup in 2006 we came in certain people accepted us and then suddenly a month later you get the food and call the neighbor during a match and that was a moment where seriously consider no longer playing for germany it hurt a hell of. A courtroom after hanging out this socalled booth get a somewhat became a household name and today hes the man itself cyclists on the 23. 00 s he was going up in guyana. I have come back out of the no im from among 5 hours away from uncle vic was in class it was a small village where people didnt have much notice when after school we play soccer with balls made of socks thats what height when i look at myself he has everything he doesnt know what to do with moneys worth and i had to struggle to get 2 square meals a day. So that was how i grew up and it affected me a bit of going to submit all that made me said goals and saying i have to give my all to achieve Something Else with russian and a certain time off that come in where i usually dont know that. I can no longer understand why as a child i wanted to be vite even if it takes a lot of strength and energy to deal with racism and to hold your head up high i wouldnt want a different skin color but anything in the book. For me being black means so many syrians means me that im seen differently but whats going on inside that Something Else. Is just me its nothing more than a skin color and. My blackness blooms and becomes my beauty ya can wear all the same my 1st and foremost im a person would be yes at my age i wouldnt want to change anything about who i have just more people about but ill tell you one thing lacks are pretty cool just include dont you think you are. Deprived of their child and their future. Tens of thousands of children nobody is fighters were born. From the emir. Has become darius. Just the fall of mosul theyve been refused papers. And the chance of going to school. What will become of. Close up. 30 minutes on d w. 3 women are images one put the full back of the next theyve come to the stage. Because football is a team sport. W. Hey listen. Thats what video game music sounded like 30 years ago. Todays tracks take the experience to another level a sense to him talk composer nobuo uematsu. Featured in many well known his music is better known to give you clues cops sounds good. Video game music on t. W. This is. From crunch talks to help germanys struggling car industry german Car Dealerships have been reopening from the loft down for 2 weeks pop customers exactly flocking to the showrooms industry bosses have been asking chancellor merkel for help also coming off a call to other blowdry a little