Ella Simons

A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin by Atquetzali Quiroz and Ella Simons

Atquetzali Quiroz

Piyali, this is my #ADayintheLife! 🙂 On Monday, June 12th, I began my morning navigating my way to class on the U1 without looking at Google Maps! Throughout the class, we discussed In Audre’s Footsteps: A Transnational Kitchen Table Talk by Dr. Heidi R. Lewis and Dana Maria Asbury with Jazlyn Tate Andrews. Our conversation primarily focused on healing, accountability, and de-centering whiteness. Dr. Lewis and my peers shared impactful insights and stories, specifically highlighting the significance of accountability as a transformative healing practice. As a result, my key takeaway from our dialogue is the importance of personal and communal|collective accountability in our journeys toward healing. The discussion stayed with me throughout the day and prompted me to reflect on what healing and accountability mean for me on a personal level and within my community. I think this conversation is especially important within marginalized communities, because healing and accountability are at the center of liberation. If we are practicing accountability, we are healing along the way. If we are healing, we are taking steps towards liberation. After class, I joined a few friends at a lake about an hour away from our apartment. Although the commute was long, I was excited to be by water, as it is a site of healing for me and my community. I spent most of my time with my feet in the water and enjoying the warmth of the sun. I began to feel a little homesick and knew I needed a pick me up. So, I ended the day by having dinner at the AYAN: Filipino Streetfood Restaurant. I ordered chicken adobo, one of my favorite Filipino dishes (but especially when my Lola or Lolo cooks it). My heart and belly were happy after the meal while listening to background music in Tagalog. Food and music are healing. I am excited to share my experiences in Berlin with my community back home and hoping to continue the conversation on accountability and healing.

Atquetzali Quiroz (she|they) is a rising senior at Colorado College. They are an Indigenous Nahua and Filipinx student from Imnížiska (Saint Paul), Mni Sóta, homeland of the Dakota peoples. Atquetzali is a Feminist and Gender Studies major minoring in Race, Ethnicity, & Migration Studies and Education. They hope to pursue a career as a high school Social Studies educator. They enjoy trying new food, dancing, and seeing new places. As this is Atquetzali’s first time in Europe, they are excited to adventure and make new memories!

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Gabby Rogan and Ella Simons

Welcome to a day in the life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin! Today is Monday, June 12, marking the beginning of the second week of our course. Our first topic of discussion centered around the importance of humility and recognizing we should be careful claiming expertise in areas where others have more diligently worked to earn that distinction. Instead, we should consistently pose questions and avoid disguising confusion with a façade of knowledge. This discussion served as a reminder for me to maintain a critical perspective, acknowledging that as a cis-gender white woman, I can never fully comprehend the experiences and perspectives of marginalized communities, particularly during my short time in Berlin. After class, I visited the Reichstag Building and the Topography of Terror exhibit. On Friday, we explored the multifaceted ways various communities encounter sexism, racism, and other forms of oppression. It became clear that our understanding of these issues is inevitably shaped by our positions in society. This notion resurfaced during my visit to the exhibit after class, following a walk through Tiergarten. The exhibit’s panels, chronologically detailing Berlin’s history during World War II, were positioned atop the remnants of wartime bombings. This juxtaposition offered a powerful reminder that the war, which caused immense destruction and upheaval, occurred not too long ago. It had a devastating impact on countless individuals, particularly Jews, Germans with differing political affiliations who bravely stood against the Nazi party, Sinti and Roma people, disabled people, and so many others. Reflecting on this experience, I was once again reminded of the importance of never presenting a false understanding of complex concepts. It is crucial for us to actively seek out exhibits like the Topography of Terror to gain a deeper comprehension of history. However, we must also acknowledge that even the creators of such exhibits cannot truly grasp the perspective of the Jewish people and the sheer terror they endured due to the racial construction of Judaism.

Ella Simons is a rising junior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Environmental Studies at Colorado College. She is from Cambridge, MA and attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. Growing up in Cambridge had a large impact on her perspectives about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ella cares about issues of social justice and wants to eventually work in global democratization efforts.

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Some Final Thoughts on the 2023 #FemGeniusesinBerlin by Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

“Gotta hit them muthafuckin’ angles! It’s a short life!”
—Drake, “Nice for What” (2018)

Judy at the DARK MATTER Museum with Me and Chase

I want to be honest. Every summer since around 2018, about halfway through this course (which I’ve taught annually since 2014 and except in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19), I contemplate not teaching it again. Most of the time, that has little to nothing to do with the students, who are usually great overall. The real issue is I’m getting older and changing in ways I never thought I would. Sometimes I think seriously about leaving the liberal arts or even about leaving the academy altogether. I don’t love teaching the same way I used to five years ago let alone twenty years ago when I taught my first college course while pursuing my Master’s degree. A large part of that is probably also due to my kids getting older. I now have an 18-year-old son headed to college this fall and a 17-year-old daughter headed into her senior year of high school. So, I’m interested in reinventing myself and spending more time with my elders and folks my own age. Plus, teaching in Berlin is exhausting. I still do everything the students do, including the walking tours and museum visits. Then, when my kids come along (as they did in 2016, 2017, and 2022, and my daughter also came this year), I’m energized by doing additional things with them like going swimming, shopping at flea markets, going to the zoo, and visiting extra museums. But that’s also exhausting.

But then, something(s) always happens to give me a spark, a second wind, if you will—another reminder of why I love teaching this course and why I’ll come back again.

Photo Credit: Katharin Luckey, 2023 #FemGeniusesinBerlin

This year, I remembered to visit a space where I once wondered if I could hold class for discussion days. The Regenbogenfabrik (or Rainbow Factory), just across the street from the flat where I’ve lived almost every year since 2018, is a self-governing, emancipatory, grassroots collective that began in 1981 (the year I was born) as part of the tenant’s rights movement in Kreuzberg. But to be honest again, my remembering the space wasn’t intentional. In fact, I hadn’t thought about it once this year—despite passing it multiple times daily—until I was preparing for our class swap and convergence class with Dr. Zachary Woods of Seattle University. I reserved rooms for us at two spaces that have been friends of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin for years, xart splitta and the FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum. One “fell through” for that morning, so I wrote the Regenbogenfabrik staff last minute asking if we could use their kino (theater). They said “yes,” and it was truly amazing. It reminds me so much of the now-defunct Brauni space that I was introduced to by Jewish Antifa in 2017 and where I held discussion days in 2018. I’m really looking forward to having class there and not only because I’d only have to leave my flat 15 minutes before class starts. So, that was one thing, and I’m starting with that, because sometimes it really is the “little” things that make a huge difference.

On that note, the majority of folks in Berlin were surprisingly kind this year. Never have so many strangers smiled at and offered to help me. It was unreal. My friend Sharon and I even met a guy from Detroit as we were leaving a coffee date. Shoutout to the Midwest. I wonder if some of the unusual kindness I’ve experienced is related to folks being happy to be back outside “after” COVID-19, but to be more honest, I don’t really care. As I told my student Kaléa during a walking tour, the older I get, the more I appreciate random acts of kindness. I need it. I receive it.

Ria and Me

Of course my friends, colleagues, and comrades here are always a reminder. I even met some new folks I’m excited to connect with again next year. To the former, I visited Ika Hügel-Marshall’s grave for the first time with Ria, Jasmin, Dagmar, and their friends Sabine and Katharin, who I met back in 2015. Every year, we go to the cemetery to see and tend to May’s grave, as well as Mike Reichel’s and Fidelis Grotke’s. This was the first time Ika wasn’t with us in the physical. I miss her. Most of all, I’m so thankful to have known and loved her and to have been loved by her. My daughter Chase and I were also so happy to spend time with Deborah, Katja, Ecki, Peggy, and Maisha in their garden. As usual, the food and drinks were delicious and the company was even better. I was thankful to hear Sharon and my other friend Josy read from their new books and seeing Tiffany at the former. I was thankful to have dinner with Rebecca, especially since she’s now a tenured professor in the U.S. and may not always be visiting Berlin when I’m in town. I want to spend every moment possible with my folks—sharing stories, smoking, eating, drinking, and laughing, especially my elders. Every hug, every kiss on the cheek, every toast is a reminder.

I do miss my best friend Dana, who came to Berlin with me as the Second Responsible Adult (SRA) five times between 2016 and 2019. It’s still hard for me to think about being in the city let alone actually being in it without her. To fill the void, my daughter, Judy, and I went to what felt like 100 flea markets and museums. I walked when it was possible to take public transportation way more than I was willing when Dana was with me. I also took pictures of the weirdest things like a donut on the bus and a bumblebee on a flower. She was definitely here in spirit.

Still, it was great having Judy back. Judy, a Feminist & Gender Studies at Colorado College alum (2020) and member of the Fall 2017 #FemGeniusesinBerlin, acted as the SRA last year and this one. The students and I always love hearing about her research on Indianthusiasm (or hobbyism) in Germany. Moreover, I remain honored that this course was one small catalyst for her work.

Italia and Marisa during the Street Art & Graffiti Walking Tour

Last, but never least, my spark was lit by this incredible group of students—these 19 students (highest enrollment for the course ever!) who were thoughtful, curious, funny, and super duper fly. It’s been a long time since I taught a course in which the Black students, Brown students, and other students of color were the majority and also gave so many damns about how they look. I firmly believe in the “look good, feel good” mantra, and these “kids” stayed camera-ready, and I loved to see it—hence, the Drake quote opening this essay. Oh, and for the record, can’t nobody serve poked lips in a picture like Marisa, honey. It was absolutely beautiful. I was so inspired. If I continue with my honesty theme, though, these were some of the slowest walkin’ students in the history of this course, probably in the history of all of mankind. Emma referred to them as “saunterers,” and I absolutely concur. But that was part of their swag, and it was only really annoying during walking tours—for me, that is. Haha. And their bond seemed so genuine. That’s not a prerequisite or a learning outcome for the course. However, it’s always a beautiful thing when I get to witness and support students developing substantial relationships. To be fair, several knew (or at least knew of) each other beforehand, but even those students seemed to grow closer during their time here.

The Street Art & Graffiti Walking Tour

And they’re so smart. I felt compelled to ask several if they’d thought about graduate school, because I see future professors in this group who’ll write critical scholarship that interrogates oppression and resistance with an especially necessary focus on intra-communal relationships. I see artists who’ll create critical spaces that center subjugated and oppressed people. I see K-12 teachers who’ll do the same. Whatever they become, I know the world is and will continue to be brighter with them in it. I feel sadness thinking about those slated to graduate next year, since I may not have them in class again. Still, and most importantly, I feel hope thinking about their futures. I also feel gratitude for being a small part of their journeys.

Chase and Judy before the SZA Concert

In closing, and as of this writing (June 21—save a few edits), I miss my husband and son more than words can say. I miss my house. I miss my bed. I miss our pets. I miss my friends. I miss my home office. I miss writing. I miss Black America. I miss Hip Hop. I’m ready to go home. But I will be back. And I’m already looking forward to it.

P.S. Other highlights include my daughter Chase’s budding friendship with Atquetzali; the SZA concert; my very novice attempt at storytelling during the German colonialism walking tour; my even more novice attempt at theorizing the bra we saw hanging on a wall during the graffiti and street art walking tour (#FreetheNipple); the convergence class with Zach; the new photojournal assignment; the students’ extra credit postcards; our first cracks at the Precarious Berlin walking tour I learned about from Adam, our Jewish history tour guide, and the Museum des Kapitalismus; and #FleaMarketFrenzy and #MuseumMayhem with Chase and Judy.

Click here to view a slideshow of pictures of the 2023 #FemGeniusesinBerlin, and follow on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (@FemGeniuses and|or @AudresFootsteps on all platforms) to see more. To view final project indices and slideshows for previous #FemGeniusesinBerlin, click here. 

PhotoJournal Index:

“German Colonialism Walking Tour with Josephine Apraku” by Katharin Luckey and Ella Simons
“The Neues Museum” by Kaléa Daniels and Glorie Michelle Romero Elvir Enamorado
“A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin” by Noor Issa and Nova Yu
“Jewish History Walking Tour with Adam Schonfeld” by Brailey Harris and Emma Fowkes
“The German Resistance Memorial” by Marisa Diaz Bonacquisti and Talulah Geheim
“A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin” by Barbara Bilić and Gabby Rogan
“A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin” by Atquetzali Quiroz and Ella Simons
“Die Mauer asisi Panorama” by Jordan Fields and Gabby Rogan
“Under the Berlin Wall with Berliner Unterwelten” by Elie Deshommes and Elliot Triplett
“A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin” by Italia Alexandria Bella’-Victoria Rodriguez Quintana and Kate Nixon
“Graffiti and Street Art Walking Tour with Alternative Berlin” by Noor Issa and Cecelia Russell
“Urban Nation Art Museum” by Nova Yu and Barbara Bilić
“A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin” by Glorie Michelle Romero Elvir Enamorado and Marisa Diaz Bonacquisti
“A Day in the Life of the #FemGeniusesinBerlin” by Brailey Harris and Elie Deshommes
“The Schwules* Museum” by Jordan Fields and Emma Fowkes
“Queer Berlin Walking Tour with Mal Pool” by Elliot Triplett and Cecelia Russell
“On the History of Poverty and Solidarity: The Precarious Berlin Walking Tour with Stefan Zollhauser” by Kaléa Daniels and Italia Alexandria Bella’-Victoria Rodriguez Quintana
“Museum des Kapitalismus” by Kate Nixon and Talulah Geheim
“Graffiti Workshop with Berlin Massive” by Atquetzali Quiroz and Katharin Luckey

German Colonialism Walking Tour with Josephine Apraku by Katharin Luckey and Ella Simons

Katharin Luckey

Today’s walking tour brought the group to Berlin’s so-called “Afrikanisches Viertel” (African Quarter). In dialogue with Berlin-based African Studies scholar Josephine Apraku, the #FemGeniusesinBerlin discussed the history of German colonialism in Africa from the perspectives of Africans and Afro-Germans, as well as the continuing efforts to address the lasting effects and remnants of German colonialism, including but not limited to various streets and locations in this area of Berlin that bare|bore the names of significant German colonists, such as Carl Peters, Adolf Lüderitz, and Gustav Nachtigal. Apraku themself has been involved in the effort to rename numerous streets in Germany. Discussion of early Afro-German writings by Theodore Michael and Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi followed. Both Michael and Massaquoi were raised in Germany in the early 20th century and wrote extensively about their experiences in addition building upon the growing field of Postcolonial Theory. This tour contributes significantly to intersectional feminism studies in Berlin in that it strongly frames and analyses German colonialism in relation to modern German society, as well as former German colonies in Africa. The lived experiences of Black people in Germany and former German colonies are an oft-unrepresented topic within mainstream German education and historical discourse and has only received some recognition within the past decade as of the writing of this journal. Due to the nuances of this theme, the discussion with Apraku touched on many topics, such as the role of German women as agents of colonialism. The fact that this topic receives very little attention outside of theoretical and activist spaces illustrates a gap in public knowledge to discuss within the context of Postcolonial Theory. The tour also brought the #FemGeniusesinBerlin to the Statue of Limitations, a sculpture of a flagpole at half-mast located in the Afrikanisches Viertel as well as the Humoldt Forum, a museum that holds stolen property from numerous colonized nations around the world. Many thanks to Josephine Apraku for their time and effort in this guided tour|discussion.

Kathrin Luckey is a rising senior double majoring in German and Romance Languages and minoring in Linguistics. She has a passion for languages and is particularly interested in translation, as well as linguistics in the context of intersectional feminist movements. She has previously studied on an exchange semester at the University of Göttingen.

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Ella Simons

During the walking tour led by Josy, several themes surrounding marginalized communities, particularly black people of African descent in Germany, were discussed. These themes consisted of the discourse surrounding Germany’s colonial history emerging as a significant problem within German culture. Josy emphasized that recognition and commemoration of individuals of African descent has only begun to gain traction in the past decade. The tour highlighted the impact of street renaming as a catalyst for this shift in recognition and explored the connection between decolonization and the street named Ghana Straße. Until recently, Germany’s colonial past was not adequately addressed in educational discourse or taught in schools. The omission of German colonialism from the study of German history is purposeful, despite the country being the third largest colonial power in terms of territorial possession. This deliberate oversight has perpetuated a lack of awareness about Germany’s role in colonization and its impact on marginalized communities. The decision to rename streets in the neighborhood, which took place in 2016, marked a significant turning point in recognizing Africans in Germany. The previous street names were associated with colonists and had been in use for years. Ghana Straße, the first street visited during the tour, holds a connection to decolonization. The street derives its name from the fact that the son of Ghana’s first leader studied in Berlin, symbolizing the struggle for decolonization and the recognition of African contributions. Wedding, the neighborhood we explored during the walking tour, serves as a site of collective remembrance, intertwining with German racist discourse. This knowledge I gained from the tour helps me understand the context of Germany’s colonization and that the renaming of streets in the past eight years reflects a shift in Germany’s acknowledgement of this past. I also learned that the ideology of intersectional oppression reveals interconnected struggles faced by Jewish people, people of color, and women. This applies specifically to women of color and the role white women played and continue to play oppressing the most marginalized demographic of women. This reminded me of May Ayim’s “Precolonial images of Africa, Colonialism, and Fascism,” as it mentions the perception of blackness as evil and Black women as unfeminine.

Ella Simons is a rising junior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Environmental Studies at Colorado College. She is from Cambridge, MA and attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. Growing up in Cambridge had a large impact on her perspectives about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ella cares about issues of social justice and wants to eventually work in global democratization efforts.

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