Storytelling Salon mit Hadija Haruna-Oelker 40 Jahre ISD Deutschland

In the organizer's words:

As part of "Strengthen democracy, act in solidarity!" a cooperation between the Department II, Anti-Discrimination Unit and the Mousonturm Frankfurt

Memory struggles - in the context of Black History Month

An evening about history that is not over - and about memory as a practice of resistance.

Black history in Germany is older, more diverse and more resistant than is often assumed. Its traces go back to the Middle Ages, run through the colonial era and National Socialism and continue to the present day in political struggles for visibility, recognition and self-determination.

From a Black perspective, memory has never been taken for granted, but has always been contested. Who tells history? Who decides what is remembered - and what remains forgotten? How does it feel when your own history is missing from archives, museums or textbooks? And what does it mean to acquire memory? This is what this evening, entitled Memory Struggles, is all about. It is about specific chapters of Black history in Germany, post-colonial reappraisal in cities and institutions - and the question of what it means to actively reclaim memory.

In cooperation with the Mayor's Department and the Anti-Discrimination Unit, the Frankfurt local group of the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD) is hosting the Storytelling Salon as part of the annual Black History Month - every year a special evening of storytelling, readings and performances. It builds on the tradition of oral history and creates a space in which subjective experiences have just as much space as social analysis. Sometimes read, sometimes spoken freely, sometimes poetic, sometimes analytical - always approachable, honest and personal. The aim is to initiate thought processes and strengthen the community.

Once again this year, the speakers share personal memories, political perspectives and cultural practices in their contributions. They want to tell, defend and pass on Black history.

The evening will be curated and moderated by journalist and presenter Hadija Haruna-Oelker, who will connect the different voices. With contributions from Marion Kraft (author, literary scholar and translator), Eleonore Wiedenroth-Coulibaly (author, translator, language lecturer, co-founder of ISD), Julia Albrecht (cultural mediator at the Weltkulturen Museum Frankfurt / current exhibition "Sheroes") and Brenda Davina (scientific coordinator for the "Colonial Heritage" of the City of Hanover / first position of its kind in Germany).

With a welcoming address by Mayor Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg.