Season 4, Episode 8: Blackness as Organizing Tools & Principles: Black Student Union at HU Berlin and Contextualizing Blackness, Gathering Pluralities, and Broadening Spectrums
“Being Black is what unites us in a way. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t aware of differences and privileges within this being Black but it’s still something that is a term that makes it clear what are the uniting factors in our identities and something that we can organize around.” — Aline from BSU Berlin
Fenja and Alina from the Black Student Union (BSU) at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin join edna bonhomme to share about organizing the BSU at the university. Expanding on the BSU starting in December 2020 and their first actions which included meeting with the Mittelbau (or department administration) at the Institute for Asian and African Studies, Alina and Fenja also share more about the BSU’s current action of an open letter of complaint to hold the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin accountable for anti-Black racism on all levels including the institute’s colonial inception and foundation as well as the ongoing coloniality of its structure and curriculum, everyday student experiences of racism and discrimination, university hiring practices, uses of racialized language within the classroom as well as the German education at large: Open letter of complaint about the conditions in the Seminar for African Studies of the Institute for Asian and African Studies (IAAW) of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Fenja and Alina also expand on BSU’s ongoing work which includes launching a mentoring program for new students focused on creating networks of care and ways of sharing experiences at the HU, building community forms of support and exchange, working towards creating a safe pathways for Black students, and publishing stories about being a part of BSU. Fenja and Alina also share more about organizational uses of Blackness and histories of Blackness with an emphasis on contextualizing Blackness, discussing political Blackness in the UK, Blackness in Germany, Blackness in Nigeria, and Black Student Unions in the US (Mississippi Student Union) as well as direct-action, Black student-led organizations (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) during the Freedom Summer campaigns of 1964 and the US Civil Rights Movement.
“I think Blackness is, for one, very useful as an organizing tool and a principle. There are so many different iterations and articulations of Blackness within the Black Student Union. There are people who are from the African continent, there are people from Germany from London from North America and all of our experiences of Blackness are differ but they also coalesce in a number of different ways within the university space. And there are commonalities and there are understandings and ways in which we can sort of form connections across our sort of Diasporic identities that aren’t exclusively particular to one national identity or ethnicity or shade. There are a number of people who you know are of mixed heritage. So I think it is also useful to understand that there are a number of different experiences of Blackness within that space but also understand that fundamentally within the university space its important for us to use and utilize and understand Blackness as something we can sort of gather around and work around as well.” — Fenja from BSU Berlin
Biographies
Alina
Alina is an American Studies Master student at Humboldt University in Berlin (HU). Originally from Berlin, she earned her B.A in American Studies and Musicology at the HU as well. She is especially interested in postcolonial studies, specifically issues connected to critical race theory, Black studies, and intersectionality. At the moment, she also works as a student assistant in the field of postcolonial studies. In December 2020, Alina with the help of her fellow student hn. lyonga founded the Black Student Union at the HU.
Fenja
Fenja is a masters student in English Literature at Humboldt University in Berlin; she graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2018. At Cambridge, she participated in student politics, anti-racist work, and student occupations. When not studying, she writes (and edits, for the cash). Interests include: meme watching, internet semiotics, straight people on dating shows, and dodging the virus. She is currently working on a thesis on the poetics of rot and degeneration in postcolonial literature. Fenja was an early member of the BSU, which is one of the university’s few assets.
Black Student Union at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (BSU)
https://bsuhu.wordpress.com/
The Black Student Union at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin is an independent body, created to serve the interests of Black students.
The union is for people of Black people, people of African descent, and people who identify themselves as part of the Black/African diaspora.
Our aim is to improve the experience of Black students at the university as we strive for intellectual and personal growth. Whilst our experiences bring us together, we acknowledge the systems of oppression that affect us do not exist in isolation. We are not interested in reproducing violent structures, instead, we want to bring the most marginalized of us to the center thereby amplifying the voices of those who are all too often overlooked. The BSU offers an intersectional and safer space for us to come together in the interest of practicing active self-care. Our laughter is a form of self-preservation and a source of energy. We are creating a space where lightness and joy is a guiding principle.
— Who are we? —
We Are The Black Student Union
We are the Black Student Union at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. We are made up of Black people, people of African descent, and people who identify themselves as part of the Black/African diaspora. We aim to improve the experience of Black students at the university and furnish our intellectual and personal growth. The union is independent of the university. The BSU is a safer space for us to come together in the interest of practicing self-care. We are creating a network of students, staff, and academics who can support one another within and beyond the university. The Black Student Union is an explicitly intersectional space. Whilst our experiences bring us together, we acknowledge the systems of oppression that affect us do not exist in isolation. We are not interested in reproducing violent structures, instead, we aim to bring the most marginalized of us to the center thereby amplifying the voices of those who are all too often overlooked. The university can be an isolating space for Black students, therefore it is crucial to us that we create a space for us to reflect on the experience of navigating the institution.
● Black students need a space for self-care which we recognize as a fundamental and radical political act.
● The BSU must be accessible to all members.
● We do not tolerate discrimination against individuals based on their gender, sexuality, religion, disability, race, or complexion.
● This is a space for us to be politically active, where we can bring universities into an understanding of what we expect from them, as well as hold the HU accountable and ensure that they are actively dismantling racism within the university.
● We persistently challenge the epistemological violence embedded in the university institution.
● We are invested in the sharing of resources, this means extending our reading and knowledge beyond the canon, which we recognize to be inadequate. The BSU calls for the decolonization of the curricula.
● We want to see increased employment of Black people across the university at all levels (especially when it comes to pastoral and mental health provisions for Black students).
● We will encourage Black students and their allies to mobilize and fight with intention, courage, conviction, and integrity.
● Our laughter is a form of self-preservation and a source of energy. We are creating a space where lightness and joy is a guiding principle.
This is a living document and can always be changed and adapted.
Links
BSU Offener Beschwerdebrief (Open letter of complaint)
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Show Credits
Interview
edna bonhomme
Post-production
Kristyna Comer
music
All music is from Freesounds.org (Creative Commons)
Thank you
Special thanks to Alina, Fenja, hn. lyonga, and everyone at the BSU for contributing to the podcast.