Season 3, Episode 7: Reading May Ayim through Poetic Revolutionaries in Berlin
Season 3, Episode 7: Reading May Ayim through Poetic Revolutionaries in Berlin
This episode opens with spoken-word poetess Savannah Sipho reading May Ayim’s poem titled “blues in Schwarzweiß” (“Blues in Black and White”) during a recent critical walking tour in Berlin called Dekoloniales Flanieren, or Decolonial Flaneur, organized by the Nachbarschaftsinitiative Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße led by students, scholars, and professors from Humboldt University, which aimed to establish a broad coalition with activists, artists, Institute for European Ethnology, Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD), SAAVY Contemporary, and the recently established Decolonize Berlin to mobilize demands to change a racist street name in the Berlin District of Mitte called M*Straße or M Street—which is an abbreviated form of a street name that has been called out for its anti-Black racist language for well over 30 years—where the Institute for European Ethnology and other departments of Humboldt University are also located. After decades of activism and one day before Dekoloniales Flanieren took place, the District of Mitte in Berlin announced on August 20, 2020 that M*Straße will be renamed to honor 18th-century philosopher, professor, jurist, and poet Anton Wilhelm Amo.
In conversation with Kristyna Comer, Savannah Sipho shares more about her reading of May Ayim’s poem during Dekoloniales Flanieren as well as more about her creative process and the transformative experience of writing and performing poetry while also acknowledging spaces and organizations led by the Black POCs in Berlin that continue to support and empower Black artists.
Just like the beginning of the episode, the conclusion features more poetry: At the end of the episode, Savannah reads “exotik” by May Ayim and Decolonization in Action host edna bonhomme reads one of her own poems titled “Foremothers.”
A special thanks to Savannah Sipho and edna bonhomme for contributing their poetry readings to this episode.
Transcriptions for all episodes are available upon request.
Biographies
Savannah Sipho
Photo by Leo Wolters
Savannah Sipho—born and raised in Berlin—is a 24-year-old student of Area Studies Asia/Africa. She was inspired by May Ayim's life and poetry to start writing as a young girl.
Identity, the array of emotions, racism, and life in Berlin are recurring themes in Savannah Sipho’s writing.
She had her debut performance in May 2019.
edna bonhomme
Links: Website
edna bonhomme is an art worker, historian, lecturer, and writer whose work interrogates the archaeology of (post)colonial science, embodiment, and surveillance. A central question of her work asks: what makes people sick? As a researcher, she answers this question by exploring the spaces and modalities of care and toxicity that shape the possibility for repair. She has collaborated and exhibited critical multimedia projects in Berlin, Prague, and Vienna. In addition to her academic interests, Edna has written for publications such as Africa is a Country, Al Jazeera, Analyis und Kritik, The Baffler, Daddy Magazine, Der Freitag, Mada Masr, The Nation Magazine, and more. Bonhomme earned her PhD in History of Science from Princeton University.
Show Notes: Links
Each One Teach One (EOTO)
Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD)
JOLIBA - Interkulturelles Netzwerk in Berlin e.V.
Poetry_Lab hosted by Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V. and Amora Bosco
Bibliography
“Poetry is the most subversive use of language that there is, because it attempts to bring about change by altering people’s feelings.”
—Audre Lorde, from “Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years 1984–1992,” documentary film directed by Dagmar Schultz
“Eine Geschichte fängt nie mit uns selbst an. Vor uns gab es ganz wunderbare Schwestern, die etwas getan haben, was es uns möglich macht, uns zu sehen.”
— Peggy Piesche, from Als ich nach Deutschland kam. Gespräche über Vertragsarbeit, Gastarbeit, Flucht, Rassismus und feministische Kämpfe, edited by International Women* Space (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, 2019, pg. 9)
Ayim, May. Weitergehen. Gedichte (orlanda, 2018)
Ayim, May, Katharina Oguntoye, and Dagmar Schultz, eds. Farbe bekennen. Afro-deutsche Frauen auf den Spuren ihrer Geschichte (orlanda, [1986] 2020, 2nd edition)
bonhomme, edna. “Foremothers.”
International Women* Space, ed. Als ich nach Deutschland kam. Gespräche über Vertragsarbeit, Gastarbeit, Flucht, Rassismus und feministische Kämpfe (UNRAST, 2019).
Kilomba, Grada. Plantation Memories: Episodes of Everyday Racism (UNRAST, [2008] 2019, 5th edition)
Kelly, Natasha, ed. Sisters and Souls: Inspirationen durch May Ayim (orlanda, [2015] 2018, 2nd edition).
Kelly, Natasha, ed. Schwarzer Feminismus (UNRAST, 2019)
Lorde, Audre. The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997)
Recent Articles on German Colonialism and activism surrounding renaming racist street names in Berlin
bonhomme, edna, “The Bones of Reparation,” (Commune, April 12, 2019)
Braun, Stuart, “Berlin street to change name following anti-racism protests,” (Deutsche Welle, August 21, 2020)
“Erinnern an Schrecken des Sklavenhandels Aktivisten feiern Umbenennung der M*Straße,” (Abendschau, August 23, 2020)
Hoff, Sigrid, “Interview: Tahir Della über Projekt für Kolonial- und Widerstandsgeschichte,” (rbbKultur, August 18, 2020)
Jethro, Duane, “Straßenumbenennung in Berlin-Mitte: Bedeutung von Worten ändert sich,” (taz, August 21, 2020)
Jethro, Duane, “Decolonizing streets,” (Africa Is a Country, April 10, 2018)
“Kolonialgeschichte: Was wir jetzt brauchen” (Zeit-Online, December 21, 2018)
Kühne, Anne, “Führung mit Berlin Postkolonial: Blick in die Vergangenheit,” (taz, July 19, 2020)
MiGAZIN, “Einmaliges Pilotprojekt zu Kolonialgeschichte startet,” (MiGAZIN, August 19, 2020)
Montanari, Johanna, “Anton Wilhelm Amo. Black Names Matter,” (der freitag, Ausgabe 35, 2020)
Nachbarschaftsinitiative Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Strasse, “Kein Rassismus vor unserer Haustür!” (June 2020)
Rothenpieler, Greta, “Eine Feier für die Umbenennung,” (taz, September 16, 2020)
Starzmann, Paul. “Wo ist der Schädel des Mangi Meli? Die schwierige Aufarbeitung der deutschen Kolonialgeschichte,” (Tagesspiegel, February 5, 2020)
Von Quynh Tran, “Die M*Straße wird umbenannt,” (neues deutschland, August 23, 2020)
Wagener, Ulrike, “Eine Stadt dekolonisiert sich,” (neues deutschland, August 18, 2020)
Wochnik, Thomas, “Wie in Berlin Afrika aufgeteilt wurde. Informationszentrum soll an deutsche Kolonialgeschichte erinnern,” (Tagesspiegel, August 18, 2020)
Show Credits
Interview and Post-production
Kristyna Comer
Poetry
“blues in Schwarzweiß” by May Ayim, read by Savannah Sipho, recorded by Michael Westrich
“exotik” by May Ayim, read and recorded by Savannah Sipho
“Foremothers” by edna bonhomme, read and recorded by edna bonhomme
Images
Profile photograph by Leo Wolters; Courtesy of Savannah Sipho
Cover image: still image from video documentation by Thị Minh Huyền Nguyễn of Savannah Sipho’s reading of May Ayim’s “blues in Schwarzweiß” with Claire Irene Künzel, co-organizer of Dekoloniales Flanieren who curated and introduced the third stop of the critical walking tour: 3. Stopp: Bundesministerium derJustiz und des Verbraucherschutzes - SchaufensterInstallation des Künstlers Ulrich Schröder zur “Verkündung der Reisefreiheit” am 9.11.1989
Music
All music is from Freesounds.org (Creative Commons)
Thank you
A special thanks to Savannah Sipho for this interview and for contributing her readings of May Ayim’s poetry and a special thanks to edna bonhomme for contributing her poem “Foremothers” to this episode and for recording her reading. I want to extend special thanks also to the organizers of Dekoloniales Flanieren, especially Duane Jethro, Claire Irene Künzel, Regina Römhild, and Adela Taleb as well as to Michael Westrich for sharing his recordings from Dekoloniales Flanieren.