Allow us to reintroduce ourselves

When it comes to history, we know how political and loaded it can be - and therefore how important it is to feature and acknowledge not only one side or voice or perspective.

My curatorial work more broadly is about exactly that: how polyphonic, non binary (in the sense of disciplines, opposites: ‘“black” and “white”’ readings of phenomena) non mainstream, non conventional perspectives are given a platform to create and express; so this approach was central to depicting a timeline on Black Austrian history.

It’s worth mentioning at this point that I have suggested to the museum that we have a series of monthly talks/readings/interventions from black Austrians to bring this timeline to life and complete it with voices and bodies who have been integral to the betterment of black lives in Austria. This should take place from October 2021 to February 2022 and is a key way of making this a polyphonic and community based and community focused work.

Key to the thinking into this project was naturally involving an Austrian, documentor, and contributor in various ways to Black Austrian history, based in Vienna. Vanessa Spanbauer’s work in this regard is extremely important and I was honoured to have her be part of this with her input on the timeline points she felt should be included. Of course, we stand on the shoulders of those who went and go before us, so this work is also only possible because of those individuals, organisations and collectives which have contributed hugely to Black lives in Austria and whose work is ongoing. We wished we could include them all in this one glimpse - we would need a much bigger canvas for all of this deeply complex, multifaceted, intersectional work that Black people do on a microlevel to macro level on a daily basis in this country alone. In this vein, I also asked Mireille Ngosso to write and read her own take and introduction to the timeline as an audio accompaniment to the illustrations.

I came across Rossel Chaslie’s work over the last year and particularly loved his Black History Painted (@blackhistorypainted) works. For me the fact that he also was based outside of Austria but within Europe was deliberate in my choice of asking him to illustrate. His fresh eye took in everything from Vanessa’s knowledge and also he spent time to speak to Austrians from the Black Community from the arts and cultural scene. Rossel has the knowledge of how to deeply and beautifully illustrate key points of global Black histories but he also has a way of working (which I love) and it's his merger of fact and fiction (or rather, imagination). The latter, imagination, is crucial to project bright Black futures and to reclaim history in the way we wish to see ourselves and how we wish to be seen. In the context of Austria, where structural racism and daily microaggressions are unfortunately the norm, envisioning a bright, Black future is even more necessary and highly political.

Recounting Black history (wherever the country) is both recounting hardship, trauma and resistance to white hegemony and, at the same time recounting victory, empowerment, joy, love, life. This timeline is a little glimpse into both, all of it. Or as much of it as we can fit into these four walls.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves
 

Every day, Black people and People of Colour experience racism. Whether at schools, in the justice system, in politics, or in the cultural sector, Black people are made invisible, marginalised, and discriminated against.

Finally, in June 2019 with the BLM movement, the box was opened, many affected people unpacked. But actually, many affected people have long tried to talk about their experiences of racism, books were written, posts on social media published, many have somehow tried to address racism. But only now has the time come when the issue reaches a broad public and the media and the white majority population have to listen and can actively engage against these injustices. For many white people, it is unimaginable the prejudice and also the tangible insults and sometimes physical violence BPoC have to deal with. But when hearing stories of racism and actively listening, many will understand that this is a real injustice and inequality. And once this understanding is raised, anyone and everyone can become part of this movement. Because in the end, we are fighting for dignity and equal treatment for all people. 

Many people do not want to acknowledge the structural racism against Black people in Austria. It is often said that this is a problem in the U.S. or something that happened 20 or 30 years ago and not today. 
But those who are affected by racism cannot prevent this experience. It can be minor events, like being stared at in public transport or not being taken seriously in a government office, but there are definitely much worse events that happen more often than you might imagine. For example, discrimination in schools (by teachers and students) or racial profiling - that is, being checked by the police just because they think someone with black skin is a criminal. Everyday racism can also become a danger because you are automatically made an object of hate by many - that's a fact. Black people are believed less, they are stereotyped very quickly, judged and treated badly. This is exactly what the BlackLivesMatter movement wants to change. By BlackLivesMatter we mean that Black people and People of Colour should also be considered equal and that their lives - just like the lives of the white majority society - should be protected and they should not be put in danger because of the colour of their skin. 

Also in Austria is it necessary that we finally deal with racism. Racism is deeply rooted in Austrian society. Since the 60s and 70s against the "guest worker" generation, against refugees from the Western Balkans who had to flee to Austria in the 90s because of the war in Yugoslavia and since 2015 against Syrian refugees. But there is also structural racism against migrants from Latin American countries or African countries. The problem of racism is far from being solved in Austria. Therefore, we urgently need an action plan against structural racism and it must be enforced politically. This concerns all areas of society, from politics, the police, to the judiciary, schools, public administration to civil society. 

I still remember exactly when Marcus Omofuma was murdered, all media played down police violence; with the murder of George Floyd, the world could no longer look away because we filmed and published it ourselves - the brutal and bitter truth. And only if we continue to look closely and voice the truth can we make sure that the white majority society notices what we have to experience every day and only then can we change something. This timeline will make sure that Black lives and Black History are never, ever forgotten. We continue to fight every day! 
Today we stand here for our freedom, for the freedom of our children and for a more just future for all. For justice we take to the streets so that one day we will live in a society where equality and solidarity becomes a reality.

I am Vanessa Spanbauer, historian and journalist from Vienna and I am involved in the timeline for Allow us to reintroduce ourselves because I started to look into the history of Black people in Austria.

Black history is barely told in Austria, which contributes to the fact that Black people are seen as new arrivals and as people without past or anchorage. Creating a timeline is not easy because we have limited sources and they are mostly based on writings of white people. To focus on Black resistance is therefore important and simultaneously not so easy. Nevertheless, it is important to tell these (hi)stories, even if I can only briefly introduce them within this scope.

If you want to know more about this, you can consult sources by Araba Evelyn Johnston-Arthur, Claudia Unterweger, Mary L. Rommney-Schaab, Walter Ajaegbu Chukwubuike, Simon Inou, Walter Sauer or Niko Wahl, Philipp Rohrbach, Tal Adler and many more to learn more about Black Austrian History.