Bärbel Kampmann | |
---|---|
Born |
Bielefeld, Germany | March 26, 1946
Died | October 27, 1999
Gelsenkirchen, Germany | (aged 53)
Alma mater | Ruhr University Bochum |
Occupation | Psychologist |
Known for | Anti-racism and integration efforts in Germany |
Bärbel Kampmann (March 26, 1946 – October 27, 1999) was an Afro-German psychologist, writer, and civil servant. A well-known anti-racist activist in Germany, she led innovative integration programs in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia that served as a model for the rest of the country.
Bärbel Kampmann was born in Bielefeld, Germany, in 1946. [1] [2] [3] Her father was an African American soldier, and her mother was a German woman from Bielefeld. [4] [5]
Her mother, Ilse Hilbert, had been a Nazi sympathizer, and her GI father left before Hilbert realized she was pregnant. [4] As a child, she was forbidden to talk about her father. [4] [6] Her mother, along with her grandmother—who primarily raised her and often tried to protect her from racism—would try unsuccessfully to bleach her skin with Drula bleaching wax and hydrogen peroxide. [4] [5]
She was one of the first Afro-descendent children born in Germany after the end of Nazi rule, and she experienced a great deal of racism and isolation in her youth, including physical violence from other children. [2] [4] [7]
After studying at a teachers' college in Cologne and working as a secondary school teacher, during which time she was an active trade unionist, Kampmann obtained a psychology degree from Ruhr University Bochum. [1] [2] She worked as a clinical therapist, primarily serving black Germans and migrants. [5]
Kampmann settled in the German city of Gelsenkirchen, where beginning in 1986 she worked for the regional government to promote the welfare of migrant children and other young people. [1] [2] She was then promoted to the government in the regional capital of Düsseldorf, where she worked on issues of integration and discrimination in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. [1] [2] [4]
Her work in the North Rhine-Westphalia government on anti-discrimination projects was used as a model across Germany. [2] These trend-setting efforts were noted for their then-novel emphasis on actually centering the perspectives of those facing discrimination. [1]
She was a well-known anti-racist activist within the Afro-German community, considered a central champion of integration in this period. [1] [2] [8] She was known for leading anti-racist workshops and founded the Gelsenkirchen Days Against Racism. [3] [4] [5] She was also involved with ADEFRA, a black women's organization in Germany, and the Initiative of Black People in Germany . [5] [9] In addition to her anti-racist and pro-migrant activism, Kampmann was also markedly anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist. [6]
Kampmann wrote a number of essays on the experiences of minorities in Germany, [3] [5] notably "Schwarze Deutsche. Lebensrealität und Probleme einer wenig beachteten Minderheit", in the 1994 book Andere Deutsche. Zur Lebenssituation von Menschen multiethnischer und multikultureller Herkunft. [10]
Kampmann's first marriage ended in divorce, in part due to the stigma against interracial relationships at the time. She later remarried, wedding fellow psychologist Harald Gerunde. [6]
In her late thirties, Kampmann traveled to the United States in search of her father, John T. Ballinger, whom she was eventually able to meet. [4] [11] However, she found herself disillusioned with the United States and began traveling instead to Guinea, where she came to feel particularly at home. [5] [6] [11]
After falling ill, Kampmann died in 1999 in Gelsenkirchen, at age 53. [1] [2] [3]
Her husband Harald Gerunde wrote a biography of her titled Eine von uns: Als Schwarze in Deutschland geboren (One of us: Born Black in Germany) in 2000. [3] [4] [6] [12]
In 2020, a street in Bremen was named in her honor. [8] [13]
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Bärbel Kampmann | |
---|---|
Born |
Bielefeld, Germany | March 26, 1946
Died | October 27, 1999
Gelsenkirchen, Germany | (aged 53)
Alma mater | Ruhr University Bochum |
Occupation | Psychologist |
Known for | Anti-racism and integration efforts in Germany |
Bärbel Kampmann (March 26, 1946 – October 27, 1999) was an Afro-German psychologist, writer, and civil servant. A well-known anti-racist activist in Germany, she led innovative integration programs in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia that served as a model for the rest of the country.
Bärbel Kampmann was born in Bielefeld, Germany, in 1946. [1] [2] [3] Her father was an African American soldier, and her mother was a German woman from Bielefeld. [4] [5]
Her mother, Ilse Hilbert, had been a Nazi sympathizer, and her GI father left before Hilbert realized she was pregnant. [4] As a child, she was forbidden to talk about her father. [4] [6] Her mother, along with her grandmother—who primarily raised her and often tried to protect her from racism—would try unsuccessfully to bleach her skin with Drula bleaching wax and hydrogen peroxide. [4] [5]
She was one of the first Afro-descendent children born in Germany after the end of Nazi rule, and she experienced a great deal of racism and isolation in her youth, including physical violence from other children. [2] [4] [7]
After studying at a teachers' college in Cologne and working as a secondary school teacher, during which time she was an active trade unionist, Kampmann obtained a psychology degree from Ruhr University Bochum. [1] [2] She worked as a clinical therapist, primarily serving black Germans and migrants. [5]
Kampmann settled in the German city of Gelsenkirchen, where beginning in 1986 she worked for the regional government to promote the welfare of migrant children and other young people. [1] [2] She was then promoted to the government in the regional capital of Düsseldorf, where she worked on issues of integration and discrimination in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. [1] [2] [4]
Her work in the North Rhine-Westphalia government on anti-discrimination projects was used as a model across Germany. [2] These trend-setting efforts were noted for their then-novel emphasis on actually centering the perspectives of those facing discrimination. [1]
She was a well-known anti-racist activist within the Afro-German community, considered a central champion of integration in this period. [1] [2] [8] She was known for leading anti-racist workshops and founded the Gelsenkirchen Days Against Racism. [3] [4] [5] She was also involved with ADEFRA, a black women's organization in Germany, and the Initiative of Black People in Germany . [5] [9] In addition to her anti-racist and pro-migrant activism, Kampmann was also markedly anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist. [6]
Kampmann wrote a number of essays on the experiences of minorities in Germany, [3] [5] notably "Schwarze Deutsche. Lebensrealität und Probleme einer wenig beachteten Minderheit", in the 1994 book Andere Deutsche. Zur Lebenssituation von Menschen multiethnischer und multikultureller Herkunft. [10]
Kampmann's first marriage ended in divorce, in part due to the stigma against interracial relationships at the time. She later remarried, wedding fellow psychologist Harald Gerunde. [6]
In her late thirties, Kampmann traveled to the United States in search of her father, John T. Ballinger, whom she was eventually able to meet. [4] [11] However, she found herself disillusioned with the United States and began traveling instead to Guinea, where she came to feel particularly at home. [5] [6] [11]
After falling ill, Kampmann died in 1999 in Gelsenkirchen, at age 53. [1] [2] [3]
Her husband Harald Gerunde wrote a biography of her titled Eine von uns: Als Schwarze in Deutschland geboren (One of us: Born Black in Germany) in 2000. [3] [4] [6] [12]
In 2020, a street in Bremen was named in her honor. [8] [13]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link) CS1 maint: others (
link)