Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Translator's Preface
- Dedication
- Black German
- White Mother, Black Father
- Our Roots in Cameroon
- My Father's Story
- The Human Menagerie
- School
- The Reichstag is Burning
- Circus Child
- The Death of My Father
- Berlin-Karlshorst
- Undesirable
- As an “Ethiopian” in Sweden
- On My Knees in Gratitude
- The Lord is My Shepherd
- The Nuremberg Laws
- War Begins
- Hotel Excelsior
- Munich
- Hotel Alhambra
- Cinecittà
- Münchhausen
- Thoughts Are Free
- Forced Laborer
- New Quarters
- Air Raid
- Fear, Nothing but Fear
- Aryans
- A Miracle
- Liberated! Liberated?
- The Russians
- Dosvidanya
- Victors and Non-Victors
- Mixed Feelings
- Lessons in Democracy
- Displaced Person
- A Fateful Meeting
- An Excursion
- A New Family
- Butzbach
- Disasters Big and Small
- A Job with the US Army
- A Meeting with Some “Countrymen”
- Show Business
- Reunion with My Brother and Sister
- Workless
- Theater
- Radio
- Television
- Hard Times
- In the Sanatorium
- A Poisoned Atmosphere
- An Opportunity at Last
- The Decolonization of Africa
- Studying in Paris
- A New Beginning
- The Afrika-Bulletin
- Terra Incognita
- African Relations
- In My Father's Homeland
- Officer of the Federal Intelligence Service
- A New Afro-German Community
- Experiences
- Light and Dark
- Homestory Deutschland
- A Journey to the (Still) GDR
- Back to the Theater
- Loss and Renewal
- Last Roles
- Reflecting on My Life
- Thanks
- Explanatory Notes
- Chronology of Historical Events
- Further Reading in English
Reflecting on My Life
from Black German
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Translator's Preface
- Dedication
- Black German
- White Mother, Black Father
- Our Roots in Cameroon
- My Father's Story
- The Human Menagerie
- School
- The Reichstag is Burning
- Circus Child
- The Death of My Father
- Berlin-Karlshorst
- Undesirable
- As an “Ethiopian” in Sweden
- On My Knees in Gratitude
- The Lord is My Shepherd
- The Nuremberg Laws
- War Begins
- Hotel Excelsior
- Munich
- Hotel Alhambra
- Cinecittà
- Münchhausen
- Thoughts Are Free
- Forced Laborer
- New Quarters
- Air Raid
- Fear, Nothing but Fear
- Aryans
- A Miracle
- Liberated! Liberated?
- The Russians
- Dosvidanya
- Victors and Non-Victors
- Mixed Feelings
- Lessons in Democracy
- Displaced Person
- A Fateful Meeting
- An Excursion
- A New Family
- Butzbach
- Disasters Big and Small
- A Job with the US Army
- A Meeting with Some “Countrymen”
- Show Business
- Reunion with My Brother and Sister
- Workless
- Theater
- Radio
- Television
- Hard Times
- In the Sanatorium
- A Poisoned Atmosphere
- An Opportunity at Last
- The Decolonization of Africa
- Studying in Paris
- A New Beginning
- The Afrika-Bulletin
- Terra Incognita
- African Relations
- In My Father's Homeland
- Officer of the Federal Intelligence Service
- A New Afro-German Community
- Experiences
- Light and Dark
- Homestory Deutschland
- A Journey to the (Still) GDR
- Back to the Theater
- Loss and Renewal
- Last Roles
- Reflecting on My Life
- Thanks
- Explanatory Notes
- Chronology of Historical Events
- Further Reading in English
Summary
In the almost ninety years I've lived I have done a lot and worked in a lot of jobs. It's a long list, and at the top stands “the little Neger in the grass skirt” from the Völkerschau. That grass skirt followed me through life, even when I was grown up. “Can you sing, can you dance? No? But a Neger has to be able to sing and dance.” Or conversely: “You move like us, you talk like us – well, you're not so black after all.” That thing about race is still stuck in people's heads. You can see it in the smallest aspects of everyday life.
It might be that when I'm returning from a trip to another European country the passport officer waves everybody else through and stops me: “Passport, please.” I ask, “Why?” He says, “General ID check.” “But you waved all the other passengers through. Why are you stopping me?” He: “You're entering the Federal Republic from abroad and I have the right to inspect your documents!” I hand him my passport, commenting that if that's the case he should be asking for the documents of all the passengers. I'm speaking quietly and calmly. But the passengers behind me are irritated. Because now the passport officer is doing just that. The two of us know perfectly well that he only stopped me because of the color of my skin. But all the other passengers were white, and that's of no interest to them.
But the Federal Republic of Germany is not a racist state. Many think it is, but I don't agree. The constitution stands against that claim, as does the rule of law that it guarantees. Our current political system is the best this country has ever had. That doesn't mean it can't be improved. For example in terms of immigration policy. But the consciousness of most Germans has changed, too. The Federal Republic is a country in which there are still people with racist attitudes, though. We have to deal with those people and those attitudes and face them down. And that applies to other European countries too.
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- Black GermanAn Afro-German Life in the Twentieth Century By Theodor Michael, pp. 205 - 206Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2017