Sandrine Micossé-Aikins

Where You Reside?: Postcolonial Performance in Berlin

By Lyric Jackson

SalmaAnother sun rises and another cup of “bounce off the wall” is poured as we congregate to RAA this morning. As with every new face we meet, each of us states the name given to us, the residential area where we feel most comfortable, the subject that interests us the most and the scholarly level we hope to achieve next school year. After ten minutes of heartfelt ice breaking, we were introduced to our speaker Salma, who partners with Celine Barry for an NGO they’re building together, and also works with and NGO called GLADT. Salma revved right into her presentation by protesting the incapability of Berlin to accept intersectionality. She shared an experience with us that involved a man curiously asking where she was from. At this moment, I could relate, because I have frequently been asked this question on this trip. This being my first time out of the United States, it seemed unusual to me, but Salma reaffirmed that this happens often. Her story continued with the man asking if her parents owned a Kebab shop and concluded with the statement, “I was curious, because there’s a difference between them owning a Kebab shop and being doctors.” With that shared story, it was obvious that Germany’s determining factors of worth were race and class. Just as the assuming supremacist categorized Salma, so often does Germany as a whole.

Salma expressed her experiences in education and her longing desire to have a familiar space in that realm. Constantly, she would be the “go-to” person for POC issues and events at her university, fitting the example that Philipp Khabo Koepsell explains in “A Fanfare for The Colonized.” He writes, “It’s a story of explorers of the glory of those soldiers who drove thousands into deserts making space for golden acres for the white men’s dream of glory,” expressing the laziness of white supremacy (212). In most PWIs, the students and faculty of color are expected to deal with all things involving with race and class. With students of color being the foot soldiers of the institution, they lower their chances of actually pulling away from their work and finding a mentor. Salma argues that mentorship is especially effective when the pupil and the mentor share similar intersections to relate.

Salma IILet’s be real, what type of mentoring is occurring when a queer Black woman is being taught by a white heterosexist man? Absolutely none. Salma’s definition of mentoring occurs through self-care and awareness. Salma and Celine paired with one another and decided to create a project called Granatapfel (pomegranate in German). They chose the title Granatapfel because of the numerous amounts of seeds in different spaces that are all connected and united under the skin of the fruit. There is a need for mentorship that support intersections. Along these lines, I was honored to take my last class of the year with Dr. Heidi R. Lewis named Critical Race Feminism. Our class textbook, Critical Race Feminism, included “Failing to Mentor Sapphire: The Accountability of Blocking Black Women from Initiating Mentoring Relationships” by Pamela Smith that brought light to the issues of ineffective mentorships between Black women and white men studying law. Smith explains the Black women need to have the same opportunity as other white students by writing, “These career functions allow Black women or other tradition outsiders to obtain additional credentials and marketable skills that they can use to demand promotion, change jobs, or prove illegal discrimination in violation of Title VII” (385). When POC finally receive power, it is imperative that they understand the system and transform it to help the “others.”

Along these lines, Sandrine Micossé-Aikins and Sharon Dodua Otoo quote Misa Dayson in “Imagine Us There: Visons of Radical.Art.People.Spaces” when she argues that “the difficult task of minority literacy critics and artists is to acknowledge and embrace this position without accepting and reproducing it.” She continues by writing, “It has to aim for producing new objects of knowledge that are not based on a conception of rational man” (11). From today’s class, I understood that mentorship can create a pivotal point in an individual’s fulfillment of life. While this might sound slightly dramatic to some, Heidi’s informative mentoring has recreated my identity simply by challenging my thoughts. Similarly, Salma and Celine are creating avenues to provide that much needed experience to people that are best served through intersectional analyses.

Lyric Jackson

Reigning from the central quarters of Arkansas, Lyric is a Psychology major with a minor in Feminist & Gender Studies. Known for her risk-taking character, she decided to attend Colorado College without visiting the campus once. When she’s not hypnotized by the tunes in her headphones, she spends time writing rhymes and short stories. Her number one priority is to make her family proud and comfortable. On a broader scale, she would like to intertwine her Psychology degree with media in order to start change in the Black community’s mindset. She would start with writing for TV shows to alter the images of Black characters and begin to create highly-ranked, all-Black casted shows that represent various images of Black women. Lyric is extremely grateful for the opportunity to travel abroad, and looks forward to more experiences.

What is Racism?: A Discussion with Sandrine Micossé-Aikins

By Jade Frost

IMG_8785On this sunny Thursday morning, our class filed into the room, with smiles on our faces and coffees in our hands, where Sandrine Micossé-Aikins was awaiting for us. Our jet lag was behind us, and we were ready to listen to as she started her talk by telling us about how most plays, especially those that are considered anti-racist, are performed in black face. She also told us that the use of blackface in plays is considered to be normal. The room gasped when hearing this, and we were hanging on her every word. In “Reclaiming Innocence,” Sharon Dodua Otoo writes, “It is this ‘normalization’ which is perhaps the biggest failure of this production. A claim to universality must be able to incorporate the visions and perspectives of those who do not fit these norms—especially if the production claims to be precisely about them and especially if the ensemble claims to take their issues seriously.” Along these lines, Micossé-Aikins continued on telling us about the play I’m Not Rappaport, and showed us a picture of a white man with a big grin on his face standing in front of the play poster which showed two white men, one in black face. The whole class was taken aback by this picture, and we were even more disgusted by images from the second play, Unschuld (Innocence).

IMG_8789Unschuld was a play that was done in black face, which caused quite a stir in the community. As a result, Bühnenwatch (Stagewatch) organized a protest during which 42 people came to the play and left when the two actors came on stage in their black face. The producer and director of the play had to temporarily stop the show, because the actors were in disbelief. Afterwards, the manager of theatre contacted Bühnenwatch, and a discussion about Unschuld was held with the cast about the problem with black face. Micossé-Aikins, who is a part of the Bühnenwatch, told us, “Well, we opened up the discourse, and although [change] is super slow, it is going somewhere.” As a result of this conversation, the cast of Unschuld stopped using blackface, but there were still some issues going on. Starting out with chuckle, Micossé-Aikins said, “We [in Germany] are 30 years behind almost everything. I mean the ‘Best Play’ award went to a play that was done in black face and went as far as to use cushions to make the Black woman character’s butt look bigger.”

IMG_8793The whole class was in disbelief in various ways, some shook their head while others laughed with Micossé-Aikins. This could be seen as an example of Pierre Bourdieu’s “gentle violence” that is defined in Maisha Eggers’ “Knowledges of (Un-)Belonging: Epistemic Change as a Defining Mode for Black Women’s Activism in Germany,” in which she claims that “‘gentle violence’ (soft violence, soft power) signals oppositional possibilities of disrupting and dismantling dominant and repressive systems and symbolic orders through critical scholarship.” When asked about what the Black actors thought about the theatre community in Germany, she stated that it is very hard for them, because they almost never get hired and when they do, it is for stereotypical, supporting roles. This reminds me of Jürgen Lemke’s “Gay and Lesbian Life in East German Society before and after,” in which he writes, “Often we find ourselves missing emotion, we have a need for solidarity and closeness. Many of us withdraw to our old positions, and become observers.”

IMG_8794The discussion ended with Micossé-Aikins talking about racism in other forms of art. She posed the question, “What is racism really?” and continued, “No one is really talking about it Germany. Someone does artwork thinking that it is fine and appropriate, meanwhile some people could see it as racism not art.” In the introduction to The Little Book of Big Visions, she writes, along with Sharon Dodua Otoo, “The vocabulary of resistance is merely a means to an end and not the end in itself.” Sandrine Micossé-Aikins’ words affected us all. It was in that session with her that I saw a parallel between American and German ideology of Blacks and how they are treated. I also noticed a new perspective on racism, art, and discourse. Not too many people are choosing to engage in the dialogue that is happening and are, therefore, kept uninformed. Micossé-Aikins is right that Germany may be slow, but they are going somewhere. Who knows where the direction will lead this country, but we can only hope for the better.

IMG_8839Jade Frost is a rising junior at Colorado College from Salt Lake City, Utah. She is double majoring in Feminist & Gender Studies and English Literature, with the hopes of becoming a journalist or working at a publishing firm. She is involved with Black Student Union and The Cipher magazine on campus. Jade’s hobbies are reading, creative writing, binging on Netflix, going for drives, dancing spontaneously and hanging out with friends and family. She enjoys discussing topics such as Black feminism, women with disabilities, and social constructs. Her favorite TV Shows are Law and Order: SVU and Gilmore Girls, and her favorite movies are Love & Basketball and Mulan. Jade loves pretty much all types of music, but her top hits are “Ladies First” by Queen Latifah, “Video” by India.Arie, and “A Change is Gonna Come” covered by Leela James. Jade is excited for this course, so she can learn and discover new things.

#BlackLivesMatter All over the World: Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh

By Samantha Gilbert

IMG_8809Why is it that Michael Brown, an 18 year old black man who stole a few packets of cigarettes, can be shot on the spot by a white policeman, but James Holmes, a young white male, can shoot an entire movie theatre and kill 12 people, yet still be able to go to trial? This is a question that ensued after an emotional and eye-opening discussion we had today with Nadine Saeed and Mouctar Bah, extremely passionate activists part of the Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh.

To start off our session, Nadine shared with us the story of Oury Jalloh. 10 years ago, three women cleaning the streets called the police because they claimed that a young black man named Oury Jalloh was “harassing” them. Though he was only asking to use one of their cellphones to call his girlfriend, the police showed up immediately, eager to arrest any person of color, especially a migrant. At 8:15 am, Jalloh was aggressively arrested and thrown into a police cell. Four hours later, he was chained to a bed and burned alive. The police claim Jalloh set himself on fire, and without any further investigation of the crime scene, this became the concrete story. But there was no possible way for this to be a suicide. For one, Jalloh was tightly cuffed by each arm and leg to the mattress which made any movement of his hands impossible. Secondly, the lighter “found at the crime scene” had no traces of fibers from Jalloh’s clothing or the mattress, and was not turned in as evidence until three days after the burning took place. And finally, the extent to which Jalloh was burned was only capable through the use of a combustive agent and the absence of the anti-flammable mattress cover. However, the courts didn’t care. Even with this evidence, they ruled Jalloh’s death a homicide, and only charged a 10,800€ fine to one police officer for not saving Jalloh when the fire alarm initially went off. They also charged the police chief for turning off the fire alarm despite his excuse that the fire alarm was broken. As this case continued to be appealed, video evidence disappeared and police stories kept changing, but the verdict stayed the same.

IMG_8811Hearing this story physically made my heart hurt, and it reminded me of the contemporary Black Lives Matter (also referred to as Black Life Matters) movement in the United States. The Brown vs. Ferguson case brought needed attention to this issue, but there are dozens of cases just like Brown’s. Take for example the story of Victor White. He was a young Black man who police claimed “shot himself in the head” in the back of a police car in Louisiana after being arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. Despite being handcuffed with no ability to move his hands, his death was ruled a suicide. There are countless other Black men and women who have similar stories, so I am very aware of racism in America. However, racism in Germany is brought to a whole different, unique level.

Not only are police able to get away with killing minorities here, but the secret service in Germany actually funds and organizes the National Socialist Underground, a racist and terrorist group associated with the KKK that has been killing innocent minorities for years. Racism is not only tolerated in this country, but is deeply rooted in every system of power. I am shocked. I am appalled. I am disgusted. As Maureen Maisha Eggers made clear in her article “Knowledges of (Un-) Belonging,” it’s difficult to even achieve a discussion of racism, let alone find a way to fight it and end it. Sandrine Micossé-Aikins, who we met with earlier today, echoes this idea in the introduction of The Little Book of Big Visions, a text she co-edited with Sharon Dodua Otoo (whom we’ll meet with next week). Micossé-Aikins told us that racism is so rarely talked about in Germany that people don’t even understand it exists, even though it is happening everywhere every day. She tightly links racism with nationalism—since the normative narrative is that Germans are white, so if you are not white, then you “can’t be German.”

IMG_8812The Initiative in Memory of Oury Jalloh has been investigating this case for years, with the hope of finally exposing the truth. They have worked with investigative journalists and have interviewed dozens of people connected to Jalloh and the police officers responsible for this crime. They have also made short films and held conferences to inform people of the situation. Ten years later and Oury Jalloh’s case is still being fought, and I can only hope that this time the courts bring him the justice he deserves. The Initiative is aware that the lawyers involved in Jalloh’s case aren’t activists and that they aren’t concerned about fighting for the truth, but rather doing what is best for them and their reputation. Nadine told us today that although she no longer has any belief in the judicial system, she believes it’s crucial for everyone to try to change the things they see going wrong in the world. Similarly, Philipp Khabo Köpsell gives hope to ending racism in “A Futurist’s Manifesto,” in which he writes, “This poem tells nothing about racism…. / In the future we rap about love / over beats made from smashing laptops against walls / rhythmically in sync with the tapping of / next door’s love birds. / In the future we love too much.” I can only hope that Koepsell’s vision comes true, but until then, the fight for justice and equality will continue. Oury Jalloh may be gone, but he is most certainly not forgotten.

SamanthaSamantha Gilbert is a sophomore who hails from Northern California and loves to be outside. From hiking to snowboarding to just breathing fresh air, nature really has her heart. She also really loves being active, as she runs track and field at CC as the team’s main female sprinter. She also writes for the sports section of The Catalyst, and is extremely passionate about journalism. She hopes to create her own major in Sports Psychology and double minor in Film & New Media Studies and Feminist & Gender Studies. Other hobbies of hers include watching The Food Network (specifically Chopped), going exploring with friends, and developing strong one on one connections with unique souls. Samantha loves traveling and learning, so this course has her super excited!

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Meeting Sharon Dodua Otoo and Discussing the Witnessed Series

By Ximena Buller Machado

Big Visions

Sharon Dodua Otoo

This morning, like any other, the FemGeniuses got ready for a day of class. Some of us ate breakfast at the apartment while others went to a bakery to get fresh goods. This time, we were going to have a session with “mother, activist, writer, and editor” (in that order) Sharon Dodua Otoo. Before this session, we read excerpts from her book The Little Book of Big Visions: How to Be an Artist and Revolutionize the World (co-edited with Sandrine Micossé-Aikins for the Witnessed series),which is an edited collection of essays written by Black artists in Germany. Otoo and Micossé-Aikins also present their ideals of equality in the form of images and text. This book is for those with an interest in transforming the current art scene in Germany and who want another perspective on contemporary art. I highly recommend people reading this to take a look at Otoo’s work.

Class with Sharon

Class w/ Sharon

We started with our usual introductions, and then it was Sharon’s turn to introduce herself. However, before she did that, she read a passage of her interestingly titled novella, the things i  am thinking while smiling politely, in which she discusses the importance of names and what her surname means to her, her family, and her communities. She then told us that she considers herself, above everything, a mother. This led her to speak about the experiences her children have had at school and how, from a very early age, they learned how to defend themselves against racism. She told us that this makes her really proud, because this shows that her sons know what the problem is and who’s problem it is, meaning that racism is the responsibility of racists and not the victims. She really hopes for other children to be able to defend their selves just as her sons, but she also hopes that eventually society changes and children do not have to go through these experiences. Sharon uses such personal examples in her work in order for her audience to relate to her and become inspired.

Witnessed Notes

Witnessed

She went on to tell us about Witnessed, which she founded. She told us how this project provides a safe space for Black men and women who would like to share their stories. These artists can express themselves in the form of novels, short stories, biographies, and the like. She mentioned how so many Black German stories, books, movies, and more are out there but are unfortunately not being seen or read. Thus, she created Witnessed to allow for unique perspectives from a group of people with multiple identities to be made available to the public. In order for these works to be widely appreciated, she is attempting to distribute her work transnationally, such as in the U.S., U.K. and countries in Africa. For this reason, this is an English-language series (also her first language), but some texts are available in German. By targeting other countries, she hopes people will start discussing these texts and the issues they examine so that they eventually make their way back to Germany to inspire discussion here. She calls this “the back door method,” because she feels that if these issues are talked about in the countries, there will be pressure in Germany from the outside to support anti-racism. Although she finds it hard to distribute these works overseas, she still makes the worthwhile effort. She even told us that she is aiming to publish one book every six months!

Daima

L to R: Beril (reading Daima), Melissa, Casey, and Kadesha

One book that has moved a large audience is Nzitu Mawakha’s Daima. This is a book that contains photos of Black women, and each woman was also asked to write a text expressing their thoughts about what it is like to be a Black woman living in Germany. The diversity of thoughts and experiences is probably why so many Black women reading it may relate to and be inspired by the text. Daima also features questions posed by the women in the pictures, which provides an interesting dynamic between them and the audience. These women are often asked questions concerning their identity and are now given a chance to ask questions to those who usually do the interrogating. Sharon also told us that Daima has garnered the most responses from readers and that she has received many “thank you” messages, as well as accounts of how good this book makes readers feel.

Class with Sharon Outside

L to R: Kadesha, Celine, Heidi, Sharon Dodua Otoo, Stephanie, Melissa, Casey, Beril, Blaise, Ximena, Kaimara, and Nicole

Meeting Sharon was very empowering. Her talk was not only very thought-provoking and motivating, but it also reminded us of the importance of self-expression through art. Writing is such a powerful tool, especially if writers are able to inspire and help others. The Witnessedseries, then, is very significant for both the artists telling these stories and for the audiences reading them. I hope, just like Sharon, that more projects like Witnessed will be created in order to successfully allow for Black German voices to be heard and that they eventually help to affect change in society.

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Ximena IIXimena is an international student at Colorado College who originally hails from Peru. Next year, she will be a sophomore, and is currently considering a major in Anthropology or Sociology. She is very excited to be in Berlin taking a course with Heidi and through CC, because it has, so far, allowed for a unique learning experience.