White people should not enter here
Those affected by racism have the right to withdraw. Those affected need exclusive spaces. Even if the white majority is upset about exactly that.
The idea is actually quite simple: a tent camp for black children, where they are not the only black children for once. A time-out from everyday life and, yes, also a time-out from the white majority society. What's wrong with that?
A Berlin association regularly organizes hiking trips and tent camps to bring black children and young people closer to nature. When the association recently gave an interview to Der Spiegel, the hatred and outrage that followed was huge. On social networks, people wrote of "apartheid" and "segregation." The founder of the association received death threats. The fact that Der Spiegel headlined the interview on Twitter with the line "Whites should stay away if possible" certainly didn't help.
Why Safe Spaces are needed for BIPoCBlack
Self-organization is nothing new in Germany. There are Black pottery classes, Black sports programs, Black study groups. More and more of these initiatives have emerged over the past decade. All of these groups were born out of necessity.
Black people and People of Color need places of retreat to recover from the racism of the white majority society.
When people with experiences of racism come together, they don't have to come to a consensus about whether racism exists in this country. They are not asked where they really come from, what is traditionally eaten in their homes, why their hair grows the way it does, or what it is like in their home countries. These places protect Black people from attacks, even those that the white majority does not even understand as attacks: Everyday racism and microaggressions.
Many Black people grow up in this country alone among white people. In Black Safe Spaces, they can feel like they belong for the first time and feel that their race doesn't matter. For the first time, they are the norm, not the supposed other. There they share experiences with Afro hair, talk freely about their culture or that of their parents without fear of being stigmatized. There they don't have to explain themselves and can just be.
Not a case of reverse racism
The mere fact that there are places where white people are not wanted causes irritation for many. "Not wanted," however, does not mean they are not allowed. No Black organization imposes a ban on whites.
The accusation they face, however, is that offerings only to Black people are racist and "segregationist." Anyone looking at the facts, without political, social or historical context, might actually come to that conclusion: A group of people with a certain skin color meet and everyone else is supposed to stay out.
Sounds like segregation, but it's not. Safe Spaces are not racism. They are a response to a racist society. They are a response to a white majority society that does not allow space for many marginalized people in its midst.
The goal of "segregation," as it has been historically, has always been to oppress certain groups and deny them participation in society. Safe Spaces aim to do the opposite: to allow BIPoC to participate in society just as white people do. Many Black children do not travel to summer camps with regular providers for fear of racism.
If we lived in a world without any isms, without any form of discrimination, there would probably be no need for Safe Spaces. Then there would be no need for recreational opportunities explicitly for Black kids and teens. But we do not live in this reality.
The fact that the Berlin association is being threatened by Nazis after the interview is not surprising, but it is alarming. Because every shitstorm, every wave of hate leads to self-organized groups withdrawing from the public. And that in turn means that they can reach fewer people with their offerings. There is a need for places in Germany where black people and people of color can feel safe. And a majority society that defends these places. Instead of complaining that they are not allowed to play.
translated with DeepL
Original / Archive (clearnet)
An opinion article in German newspaper ZEIT Online
The author:
Those affected by racism have the right to withdraw. Those affected need exclusive spaces. Even if the white majority is upset about exactly that.
The idea is actually quite simple: a tent camp for black children, where they are not the only black children for once. A time-out from everyday life and, yes, also a time-out from the white majority society. What's wrong with that?
A Berlin association regularly organizes hiking trips and tent camps to bring black children and young people closer to nature. When the association recently gave an interview to Der Spiegel, the hatred and outrage that followed was huge. On social networks, people wrote of "apartheid" and "segregation." The founder of the association received death threats. The fact that Der Spiegel headlined the interview on Twitter with the line "Whites should stay away if possible" certainly didn't help.
Why Safe Spaces are needed for BIPoCBlack
Self-organization is nothing new in Germany. There are Black pottery classes, Black sports programs, Black study groups. More and more of these initiatives have emerged over the past decade. All of these groups were born out of necessity.
Black people and People of Color need places of retreat to recover from the racism of the white majority society.
When people with experiences of racism come together, they don't have to come to a consensus about whether racism exists in this country. They are not asked where they really come from, what is traditionally eaten in their homes, why their hair grows the way it does, or what it is like in their home countries. These places protect Black people from attacks, even those that the white majority does not even understand as attacks: Everyday racism and microaggressions.
Many Black people grow up in this country alone among white people. In Black Safe Spaces, they can feel like they belong for the first time and feel that their race doesn't matter. For the first time, they are the norm, not the supposed other. There they share experiences with Afro hair, talk freely about their culture or that of their parents without fear of being stigmatized. There they don't have to explain themselves and can just be.
Not a case of reverse racism
The mere fact that there are places where white people are not wanted causes irritation for many. "Not wanted," however, does not mean they are not allowed. No Black organization imposes a ban on whites.
The accusation they face, however, is that offerings only to Black people are racist and "segregationist." Anyone looking at the facts, without political, social or historical context, might actually come to that conclusion: A group of people with a certain skin color meet and everyone else is supposed to stay out.
Sounds like segregation, but it's not. Safe Spaces are not racism. They are a response to a racist society. They are a response to a white majority society that does not allow space for many marginalized people in its midst.
The goal of "segregation," as it has been historically, has always been to oppress certain groups and deny them participation in society. Safe Spaces aim to do the opposite: to allow BIPoC to participate in society just as white people do. Many Black children do not travel to summer camps with regular providers for fear of racism.
If we lived in a world without any isms, without any form of discrimination, there would probably be no need for Safe Spaces. Then there would be no need for recreational opportunities explicitly for Black kids and teens. But we do not live in this reality.
The fact that the Berlin association is being threatened by Nazis after the interview is not surprising, but it is alarming. Because every shitstorm, every wave of hate leads to self-organized groups withdrawing from the public. And that in turn means that they can reach fewer people with their offerings. There is a need for places in Germany where black people and people of color can feel safe. And a majority society that defends these places. Instead of complaining that they are not allowed to play.
translated with DeepL
Original / Archive (clearnet)
An opinion article in German newspaper ZEIT Online
The author:
Last edited:
