Discussion round on the exhibition "Afrotopia NDS"

The evening started with a joint viewing of a performance by Maya Angelou "And Still I Rise". In the well-attended lecture theatre, an intimate conversation developed between Elli Mariyama Manneh (blogger, activist, content creator and coach, who was portrayed in the exhibition), Kalina Magdzinska (Master's student of sustainability sciences at Leuphana and councillor for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Modou Diedhiou (founder of the Schwarze Schafe e.V. association and freelance trainer for empowerment and speaker on racism-critical education) and Yvonne Bödler (member of the Young Afro Collective, a student initiative at Leuphana).

The discussion was moderated by Kira Herff, who is also studying at Leuphana University Lüneburg.

Modou Diedhiou reported on the background to the travelling exhibition "Afrotopia NDS", which is being promoted as part of the UN Decade for People of African Descent. He was enthusiastic about the positive reception the project has received so far. If possible, the project should be extended beyond Lower Saxony to other federal states.

Kalina Magdzinska described the pitfalls of her work in politics, the feeling of wanting to initiate change and the encounter with her role model, Aminata Touré, a member of parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the first Black female minister in Germany. After the participants were asked about supportive people or experiences along the way and teachers were mentioned twice, the local politician remarked: "We need more key moments, especially in educational institutions, that pave the way."

"In my first semester of business studies, I was the only PoC (person of colour) in my lectures," recalls Yvonne Bödler, who is now studying psychology and talks about how important dealing with one's own emotions is for political work. "People who have experienced racism are not educators," emphasised the student.

Elli Mariyama Manneh is an education professional and repeatedly has to defend herself against discriminatory practices in white-dominated institutions. However, she also reports empowering experiences through allyship with people who have not experienced racism. Empowerment means occupying spaces and not questioning them. "Please don't just talk to us about racism!" said the blogger.

The audience asked the panellists a number of personal questions. Among other things, they emphasised how crucial it is to use your own position and constantly ask yourself: What can I do? How can I take action? Where do I have room for impact and how can I open it up?

An important round of talks that showed how valuable Black perspectives and their visibility are.