Black German women who have helped me connect with Germany’s Black community

I initially sought out German platforms to help improve my German skills. For me, this was the most practical and convenient way to integrate language learning into my everyday life. If you’ve not yet tried it, I can highly recommend this.

I would find one account that I could relate to, and then scroll through the accounts that they followed, hoping to find similar content. This is how I stumbled across Alice Hasters, who I’ll share more info on later. Scrolling through Alice’s Instagram feed opened up a whole new side of Germany that I didn’t learn about in school, and to be frank, had hardly encountered during my years of living here: the Black German community. I instantly felt more connected and no longer so alone in being in a Black woman in Germany. Not because there are no black people in Germany, but because the main connections that I had made with Germans had been through work, and despite how multicultural corporate companies are, there is a difference between being international and being diverse. On encountering Alice’s Instagram account, I scrolled and scrolled and scrolled and ended up following so many Black German women. I was glad to listen to, learn from and also identify with their stories.

If I do end up staying here forever, then having a solid understanding of the experiences of Black people in Germany is extremely important to me as a Black woman. Now that I think about it, through the help of Black German women sharing their stories, I have more of a sense of belonging in Germany than I’ve ever had before.

So following this, I’ve decided to share three platforms of Black German women who have helped me connect to Germany’s Black community:

Aminata Touré

Aminata Touré became the Vice President of Schleswig-Holstein parliament, as a member of the Green Party, at 26 years old. After living in Schleswig-Holstein during my semester abroad, I was instantly intrigued to learn more about her. I was inspired by her passion and drive to represent and implement change within and around migration, anti-racism, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. With such incredible energy it is no wonder that Aminata is not only the Vice President of Schleswig-Holstein parliament, but she is the first Black German and youngest Vice President nationwide. How’s that for representation?

RosaMag

RosaMag is an online magazine by Black German women that is dedicated to celebrating Black German women. The platform aims to educate, inform and empower through its insightful articles on lifestyle, beauty, culture and politics. I don’t personally know any of the writers, but their content alone has given me a sense of community and connection with other Black women in Germany.

Alice Hasters

It was through Alice Hasters that I gained exposure to so many other inspirational Black German women. I am a regular listener of Feuer&Brot podcast, hosted by Alice and her friend, Maxi, and I often watch Alice’s Instagram videos. In 2019, Alice’s book “Was weiße Menschen nicht über Rassismus hören wollen aber wissen sollten” (What white people don’t want to hear, but should know, about racism) was published in 2019, which sold out after the death of George Floyd.

As well as a cultural learning opportunity, the above people and platforms have enabled me to improve my German skills whilst consuming content that I can connect with on a personal level. Whether it’s through podcasts, watching videos or reading articles, I can only recommend engaging with their content. Enjoy!