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Rassismus: Strukturelle Probleme brauchen strukturelle Lösungen!
Rassismus ist eine systemische Ideologie, die seit vielen Jahrhunderten unsere gesamte Gesellschaft durchzieht. Dieser Fakt wird in der öffentlichen Debatte oft ignoriert. Stattdessen wird allein über die persönlichen Auswirkungen von Rassismus gesprochen. Doch dies verdeckt seine umfassende Wirkmacht und Verwobenheit. Dieses Buch zeigt anhand von fünf Beispielen aus der aktuellen Debatte, warum es wichtig ist, prozessorientiert (und nicht ergebnisorientiert) zu handeln, und bereitet verständlich und leicht zugänglich die Grundlagen des strukturellen Rassismus in Deutschland auf.
80 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 3, 2021
YES YES YES! What a tour de force! Natasha A. Kelly achieves in under 100 pages what most writers can't in a book double or thrice the size: a fresh take on antiracism. Not the same arguments we've all heard dozens of times before, not the same topics that have been discussed at length elsewhere – Natasha A. Kelly finally moves the conversation forward in a productive way – by analysing current problems that need our attention, proposing new solutions and sharing her sharp observations ... and all of that in a GERMAN context, focusing on German society and Black people in Germany??? I think I'm the happiest girl alive right now.
Published earlier this year [and available through the Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung], Rassismus: Strukturelle Probleme brauchen strukturelle Lösungen! (= "Racism. Structural problems need structural solutions!") tries to shift the racism debate from a debate about individual prejudices and "Einzelfälle" (individual cases) to a debate on structural racism and the structural problems that come along with it. It focuses on anti-Black racism in Germany only!
I read this book in one sitting. On the one hand, because it's rather short, but on the other, because I simply couldn't put it down. It is written so well and engaging. Kelly's voice is urgent, the problems she discusses are urgent. Her argumentation is always clear and easy to follow. I underlined multiple things on every single page. I learned a lot, especially given the small size of this volume! I'm simply impressed, and would love to read more essays by Kelly in the future.
Racism combines an introduction, five chapters (each focusing on a different topic: racism and history, the racial turn, racism and knowledge, racism and language, and racism and the police) – the first three of which were absolutely amazing, the latter two were great as well but somewhat redundant as she didn't present too many new arguments in them – an afterword and a long bibliography. The structure of the book was very well set up, and I appreciated that Kelly didn't focus on too many topics but rather chose narrow the ones down she wanted to dive a little bit deeper in. Excellent!
In her opening plea, Kelly repeats what we all know: RACISM KILLS. She stresses that this is not just the case in the US, citing the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, but in Germany as well. Drawing a parallel between the two countries, she cites some examples of Black people who've been killed at the hands of German police officers: Kola Bankole (1994), Aamir Ageeb (1999), N'deye Mareame Sarr (2000), Michael Paul Nwabuisi (2001), Oury Jalloh (2005), Laye-Alama Condé (2005), Dominique Koumadio (2006), Christy Schwundeck (2011). And although the list is long, is not even complete.
In the first chapter, Kelly dissects how racism has manifested itself in Germany throughout history and how it affects our lives up to this day. She argues that today, colonialism as a system of power and domination is over, but ideologically it continues to operate as so-called "coloniality" (Kolonialität). The racist ideas of colonialism continue to influence body images, knowledge and knowledge production, and the power structures of our society into the present. For example, the persistence of coloniality still determines the understanding of who or what is considered "German" in Germany.
Colonial continuities ("koloniale Kontinuitäten") can be seen today in Germany in public spaces (e.g. colonial street names), in museums (e.g. colonial looted art) or in the names of medical clinics, such as the Virchow Clinic in Berlin. Skulls of the Ovaherero, Nama, Damara and San are still stored in the Medical History Museum of the Charité in Berlin.
Kelly goes back in time to the 18th century to show has racism was transfigured into a science during that period, by the likes of Kant & Co. She then moves on to trace its footprint throughout history. There are two facts that I learned from this "history lesson":
1. After World War II, following an openly racist debate in the Bundestag, it was decided to give up the children of Black U.S. soldiers and white German women in the U.S. for forced adoption.
2. A total of 400 Namibian preschool children came to East Germany in the course of South Africa's liberation struggles (against the apartheid regime), where they lived until the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, with reunification and Namibia gaining independence (from South Africa), they were not naturalized, but sent back to Namibia, although some of them had lived in the GDR since 1979. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, an important part of (Black) German history was lost, which is hardly ever talked about in public.
She also mentions that, since 2007, the KADIB ("Komitee für die Errichtung eines afrikanischen Denkmals") has been calling for a memorial to Black victims of colonialism, Nazism and postwar racist violence in Germany. But instead of recognizing this demand, the German government enters into neo-colonial freedom agreements, creates dependencies on European development aid, exports arms, and externalizes its border lines, while Africans drown in the Mediterranean due to the EU's failure to provide aid. It's unbearable!
The most interesting (and thought-provoking) chapter in this book turned out to be the second one in which Kelly argues that the word "Rasse" (= race but with a biological meaning in German context) should not (!) be removed from the Grundgesetz (German constitution). Many Black organisations have called for a replacement of the word because it's inherently racist (in our German context). Kelly argues that this can't happen before German society completes its racial turn.
Because of the longevity of racism, the constructed biological category of "race" has produced a social reality. To do justice to this, the English term "race" is used in the social science context. This term takes a social definition as its basis and allows for "agency," i.e., the ability to stand up for oneself and speak out. The term thereby includes the history of the constructed biological category "race" in order to be able to focus on its continuing social impact. Thus, the biological origin of the word does not fall away, but becomes an organizing feature for the analysis of social realities.
It is therefore crucial that the concept of race is not replaced, but that its history of meaning remains as a pivotal point for the necessary social change, so that its social dimension in the fight against racism is recognized and strengthened accordingly.
If we were to replace "race" in the constitution before the racial turn is completed, the consequence would be that racial thinking, and with it the biological notion of supposed human races, would continue unabated. Before the word can disappear, a social rethinking must first take place.
Before I read that chapter I was in favor of replacing the word as well. I am not anymore. Kelly's argument seems sound to me. Replacing that word would be a shallow gesture. German society needs to change first, the fact that race isn't biological needs to be learned and understood first. Kelly says that a racial turn can only succeed if Black Studies are institutionalised in Germany.
Another reason against the replacement of the word "Rasse" is the fact that article 3 of our constitution not only states that people may not be discriminated against on the basis of "race", it also states that they may not be given preferential treatment on that basis. That last (very important!) meaning would be lost if the term were replaced (e.g. by the word "rassifiziert" => "racialized").
In the third chapter, Kelly talks about racism and knowledge. She argues that as a European tradition of thought, racism was specifically used to normalize whiteness and to legitimize and secure white domination, power, and privilege. This historically evolved ideology, differentiated over the centuries, produced and continues to produce racist knowledge, inscribed and inscribes itself in language, formed and continues to form a "knowledge archive" that functions as a collective memory and preserves racism.
When it comes to (scientific) research on racism, Germany turns to the US instead of consulting its own Black scientists. Black German scientists are largely ignored. Racism in the structures of German universities (and schools) isn't examined and researched at all, and antiracism isn't an integral part of any course of studies. Black German scientists have demanded for years that an independent anti-racism research center must be established. Alas! to no avail!
At the end of that chapter, Kelly gives the harrowing example of Saraya Gomis, a Black woman who worked as the first anti-discrimination officer. She resigned after a year on the job because she realized that, in her position, she was given no leeway or power to really change anything. On top of that, she was frequently subjected to racism whilst on the job, so too when she visited a school and was "greeted" by a teacher with a monkey mask on making monkey noises at her. There were no consequences for that teacher and she was allowed to keep on teaching. Yeah, as a German society, we still have a long way to go.
The fourth chapter on racism and language didn't provide much new information. Kelly mainly dissects the use of the n-word in Germany and gives the example of Nikolaus Kramer (a right-wing politician in a German state parliament) who used the n-word during one of his speeches in the parliament. After protests from the public and other parties, a court ruled in his favor and ruled that his use of the word in that context was legal. To contrast that shitshow Kelly gives the example that in the city of Cologne it is now forbidden by law to use the n-word, no matter the context.
In the white majority society, media, and politics, Black self-denominations (like "Black" or "Afro-German") are extremely rarely used. And when they are used, the use of them is very uncertain and unassertive, making visible that Black subjects are still absent (= excluded) in public discourses.
In the fifth chapter, Kelly talks about racism and the police in Germany and details the horrifying case of Oury Jalloh and his family's longlasting fight for justice. Jalloh was tied to the mattress and was burned alive in his prison cell in 2005. And even now, 16 years later, his family still hasn't gotten any justice and the police officers run free.
In conclusion, Kelly's book Rassismus was very eye-opening and an essential read. My main takeaway is the fact that instead of taking a results-oriented approach, we need to start applying a process approach, as so skilfully shown in her analysis of the word "Rasse" in the constitution. Racism has been entrenched in our society for centuries, it will take just as long to dismantle it.
Published earlier this year [and available through the Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung], Rassismus: Strukturelle Probleme brauchen strukturelle Lösungen! (= "Racism. Structural problems need structural solutions!") tries to shift the racism debate from a debate about individual prejudices and "Einzelfälle" (individual cases) to a debate on structural racism and the structural problems that come along with it. It focuses on anti-Black racism in Germany only!
I read this book in one sitting. On the one hand, because it's rather short, but on the other, because I simply couldn't put it down. It is written so well and engaging. Kelly's voice is urgent, the problems she discusses are urgent. Her argumentation is always clear and easy to follow. I underlined multiple things on every single page. I learned a lot, especially given the small size of this volume! I'm simply impressed, and would love to read more essays by Kelly in the future.
Racism combines an introduction, five chapters (each focusing on a different topic: racism and history, the racial turn, racism and knowledge, racism and language, and racism and the police) – the first three of which were absolutely amazing, the latter two were great as well but somewhat redundant as she didn't present too many new arguments in them – an afterword and a long bibliography. The structure of the book was very well set up, and I appreciated that Kelly didn't focus on too many topics but rather chose narrow the ones down she wanted to dive a little bit deeper in. Excellent!
In her opening plea, Kelly repeats what we all know: RACISM KILLS. She stresses that this is not just the case in the US, citing the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, but in Germany as well. Drawing a parallel between the two countries, she cites some examples of Black people who've been killed at the hands of German police officers: Kola Bankole (1994), Aamir Ageeb (1999), N'deye Mareame Sarr (2000), Michael Paul Nwabuisi (2001), Oury Jalloh (2005), Laye-Alama Condé (2005), Dominique Koumadio (2006), Christy Schwundeck (2011). And although the list is long, is not even complete.
In the first chapter, Kelly dissects how racism has manifested itself in Germany throughout history and how it affects our lives up to this day. She argues that today, colonialism as a system of power and domination is over, but ideologically it continues to operate as so-called "coloniality" (Kolonialität). The racist ideas of colonialism continue to influence body images, knowledge and knowledge production, and the power structures of our society into the present. For example, the persistence of coloniality still determines the understanding of who or what is considered "German" in Germany.
Colonial continuities ("koloniale Kontinuitäten") can be seen today in Germany in public spaces (e.g. colonial street names), in museums (e.g. colonial looted art) or in the names of medical clinics, such as the Virchow Clinic in Berlin. Skulls of the Ovaherero, Nama, Damara and San are still stored in the Medical History Museum of the Charité in Berlin.
Kelly goes back in time to the 18th century to show has racism was transfigured into a science during that period, by the likes of Kant & Co. She then moves on to trace its footprint throughout history. There are two facts that I learned from this "history lesson":
1. After World War II, following an openly racist debate in the Bundestag, it was decided to give up the children of Black U.S. soldiers and white German women in the U.S. for forced adoption.
2. A total of 400 Namibian preschool children came to East Germany in the course of South Africa's liberation struggles (against the apartheid regime), where they lived until the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, with reunification and Namibia gaining independence (from South Africa), they were not naturalized, but sent back to Namibia, although some of them had lived in the GDR since 1979. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, an important part of (Black) German history was lost, which is hardly ever talked about in public.
She also mentions that, since 2007, the KADIB ("Komitee für die Errichtung eines afrikanischen Denkmals") has been calling for a memorial to Black victims of colonialism, Nazism and postwar racist violence in Germany. But instead of recognizing this demand, the German government enters into neo-colonial freedom agreements, creates dependencies on European development aid, exports arms, and externalizes its border lines, while Africans drown in the Mediterranean due to the EU's failure to provide aid. It's unbearable!
The most interesting (and thought-provoking) chapter in this book turned out to be the second one in which Kelly argues that the word "Rasse" (= race but with a biological meaning in German context) should not (!) be removed from the Grundgesetz (German constitution). Many Black organisations have called for a replacement of the word because it's inherently racist (in our German context). Kelly argues that this can't happen before German society completes its racial turn.
Because of the longevity of racism, the constructed biological category of "race" has produced a social reality. To do justice to this, the English term "race" is used in the social science context. This term takes a social definition as its basis and allows for "agency," i.e., the ability to stand up for oneself and speak out. The term thereby includes the history of the constructed biological category "race" in order to be able to focus on its continuing social impact. Thus, the biological origin of the word does not fall away, but becomes an organizing feature for the analysis of social realities.
It is therefore crucial that the concept of race is not replaced, but that its history of meaning remains as a pivotal point for the necessary social change, so that its social dimension in the fight against racism is recognized and strengthened accordingly.
If we were to replace "race" in the constitution before the racial turn is completed, the consequence would be that racial thinking, and with it the biological notion of supposed human races, would continue unabated. Before the word can disappear, a social rethinking must first take place.
Before I read that chapter I was in favor of replacing the word as well. I am not anymore. Kelly's argument seems sound to me. Replacing that word would be a shallow gesture. German society needs to change first, the fact that race isn't biological needs to be learned and understood first. Kelly says that a racial turn can only succeed if Black Studies are institutionalised in Germany.
Another reason against the replacement of the word "Rasse" is the fact that article 3 of our constitution not only states that people may not be discriminated against on the basis of "race", it also states that they may not be given preferential treatment on that basis. That last (very important!) meaning would be lost if the term were replaced (e.g. by the word "rassifiziert" => "racialized").
In the third chapter, Kelly talks about racism and knowledge. She argues that as a European tradition of thought, racism was specifically used to normalize whiteness and to legitimize and secure white domination, power, and privilege. This historically evolved ideology, differentiated over the centuries, produced and continues to produce racist knowledge, inscribed and inscribes itself in language, formed and continues to form a "knowledge archive" that functions as a collective memory and preserves racism.
When it comes to (scientific) research on racism, Germany turns to the US instead of consulting its own Black scientists. Black German scientists are largely ignored. Racism in the structures of German universities (and schools) isn't examined and researched at all, and antiracism isn't an integral part of any course of studies. Black German scientists have demanded for years that an independent anti-racism research center must be established. Alas! to no avail!
At the end of that chapter, Kelly gives the harrowing example of Saraya Gomis, a Black woman who worked as the first anti-discrimination officer. She resigned after a year on the job because she realized that, in her position, she was given no leeway or power to really change anything. On top of that, she was frequently subjected to racism whilst on the job, so too when she visited a school and was "greeted" by a teacher with a monkey mask on making monkey noises at her. There were no consequences for that teacher and she was allowed to keep on teaching. Yeah, as a German society, we still have a long way to go.
The fourth chapter on racism and language didn't provide much new information. Kelly mainly dissects the use of the n-word in Germany and gives the example of Nikolaus Kramer (a right-wing politician in a German state parliament) who used the n-word during one of his speeches in the parliament. After protests from the public and other parties, a court ruled in his favor and ruled that his use of the word in that context was legal. To contrast that shitshow Kelly gives the example that in the city of Cologne it is now forbidden by law to use the n-word, no matter the context.
In the white majority society, media, and politics, Black self-denominations (like "Black" or "Afro-German") are extremely rarely used. And when they are used, the use of them is very uncertain and unassertive, making visible that Black subjects are still absent (= excluded) in public discourses.
In the fifth chapter, Kelly talks about racism and the police in Germany and details the horrifying case of Oury Jalloh and his family's longlasting fight for justice. Jalloh was tied to the mattress and was burned alive in his prison cell in 2005. And even now, 16 years later, his family still hasn't gotten any justice and the police officers run free.
In conclusion, Kelly's book Rassismus was very eye-opening and an essential read. My main takeaway is the fact that instead of taking a results-oriented approach, we need to start applying a process approach, as so skilfully shown in her analysis of the word "Rasse" in the constitution. Racism has been entrenched in our society for centuries, it will take just as long to dismantle it.
May 23, 2021
Must read. Ich bewundere Natasha A. Kelly, wie klar und präzise sie die komplexesten Nuancen des strukturellen Rassismus im Kontext vom Wissenschaft, Bildung, Polizeiarbeit erklärt. Besonders einleuchtend fand ich ihre Argumentation gegen Streichung der „Rasse“ aus dem Grundgesetz und Erläuterungen, warum struktureller Rassismus als europäische Denktradition zu verstehen ist.
June 10, 2021
Mega gutes Buch über die aktuelle Rassismusdebatte in Deutschland - hätte sogar gerne noch länger sein können, war aber trotzdem in seiner Kürze extrem überzeugend!
March 3, 2023
richtig gut! es ist sehr sachtextlich geschrieben, aber wenn ich mich konzentrierte, war das gar kein problem. das buch schildert wie scheiße rassismus im allgemeinen (hauptsächlich in deutschland) ist, d.h. wie er gesellschaftlich, alltäglich aber auch institutionell wirkt. es vertieft an wichtigen stellen (rassismus und sprache, rassismus und bildung, geschichtliches...) und trotz der sachlichkeit finde ich es überraschend emotional. weiß nicht, ob das von Kelly intendiert ist, aber es ist ja auch ein krasses thema.
March 17, 2022
Thema: Struktureller Rassismus in Deutschland. Dieses Buch brauch(t)en wir.
March 29, 2023
4.5/5
May 5, 2021
Read it
Understand it
Act according to it
Understand it
Act according to it
June 17, 2021
Ein guter, kurzer Einführungsband zu strukturellen Rassismus in Deutschland, vor allem im Wissenschaftsbetrieb, Schule/Lehrerausbildung und bei der Polizei
December 29, 2021
//4.5//
Habe dies in einem Zug gelesen. Sehr gelungene Uebersicht über Rassismus im Deutschen und Globalen Kontext. In 5 Kapiteln befasst Sie sich mit folgenden Themen: Geschichte des Kolonialismus und wie dieser ald Kolonialität bis Heute überlebt und unseren Alltag und Strukturen prägt, Das Wort Rasse (Race) und die soziale Rolle des Wortes, der rassistische Bias in Bildung und Wissen von der Primarschule bis hin zur Wissenschaft, Sprache als aktive Form des Handels und die Benuzung des N Wort, und zuletzt die Rasistische Struktur der Polizei. Alles wichtige Themen sehr gut dargestellt und mit Beispielen aus Deutschland unterstützt. Mein persönliche Lieblingskapitel waren 1 und 5 da ich am meisten Konkretes daraus gelernt habe.
Habe dies in einem Zug gelesen. Sehr gelungene Uebersicht über Rassismus im Deutschen und Globalen Kontext. In 5 Kapiteln befasst Sie sich mit folgenden Themen: Geschichte des Kolonialismus und wie dieser ald Kolonialität bis Heute überlebt und unseren Alltag und Strukturen prägt, Das Wort Rasse (Race) und die soziale Rolle des Wortes, der rassistische Bias in Bildung und Wissen von der Primarschule bis hin zur Wissenschaft, Sprache als aktive Form des Handels und die Benuzung des N Wort, und zuletzt die Rasistische Struktur der Polizei. Alles wichtige Themen sehr gut dargestellt und mit Beispielen aus Deutschland unterstützt. Mein persönliche Lieblingskapitel waren 1 und 5 da ich am meisten Konkretes daraus gelernt habe.
August 29, 2021
Ich habe dieses Buch nach Empfehlung einer Dozentin und für meine Hausarbeit gekauft. Ich kann sagen: Dieses Buch zeigt nochmal deutlich, dass Rassismus nicht nur individuell ist, sondern auch und besonders strukturell. Auch ich kann mich nicht von Vorurteilen freisprechen, aber ich habe durch dieses Buch gelernt, dass ich diese erkennen und dann bekämpfen muss… ich kann jedem dieses Buch ans Herz legen! Ich werde mich dem Prozess widmen und mit darum kämpfen, dass Rassismus erkannt und bekämpft wird.
October 22, 2021
Natasha Kelly's Schreibstil ist beeindruckend konzise und verständlich. Sie schafft es, auf den etwa hundert Seiten dieses Buches, den gegenwärtigen Diskurs über Antischwarzen Rassismus in Deutschland zu charakterisieren und seine größten Probleme darzustellen. Besonders wird in diesem Buch Rassismus als strukturelles Phänomen durch viele eindringliche Beispiele veranschaulicht.
May 3, 2021
Wichtiger Denkanstoß!
Die Frage ob es Rassismus in Deutschland gibt wird richtigerweise übersprungen und es werden gleich die Stellen an denen Rassismus stattfindet genannt.
Gerade als weiße Person sehr lesenswert.
Die Frage ob es Rassismus in Deutschland gibt wird richtigerweise übersprungen und es werden gleich die Stellen an denen Rassismus stattfindet genannt.
Gerade als weiße Person sehr lesenswert.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews