IWS RADIO #06 | Racism & Resistance: Linking Past, Present & Afrofuture

Dr. Natasha A. Kelly is an academic activist, visualutionist and afrofuturist. She joins Jennifer Kamau from IWS for a deep dive into the history of racism in Germany - the origins and continuities of German (and European) Colonialism and a look at “the other side of the coin”: Black German history. We discuss stories of resistance, the history of Black movements in Germany and the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule occupation where IWS was formed and where we met Natasha who was taking on a liaison role at that time. Natasha also draws parallels between now and 100 years ago when W.E.B. Du Bois wrote “The Comet”, which Natasha’s latest book - “The Comet - Afrofuturism 2.0” reintroduces readers to. In 1920, the world was recovering from the last major global pandemic - the so-called Spanish Flu - and the USA from the “Red Summer” of 1919, which saw a wave of race riots and white supremacist mobs attacking and killing African-Americans in 30+ cities across the country following a number of peaceful protests against the racial violence. Sound familiar? Just as Du Bois did, Natasha challenges us to envision and create the futures we want for ourselves. If we are demonstrating, we should not just be thinking about what we are demonstrating against, but also what are we demonstrating for! With music from Nuuki, Antinational Embassy, Jeff Braun and Celina Bostic