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How Katharina Oguntoye has highlighted the history of Black people in Germany

Katharina Oguntoye holding her book "Farbe bekennen." (Courtesy of Widen the Circle)
Katharina Oguntoye holding her book "Farbe bekennen." (Courtesy of Widen the Circle)

In most discussions of German history, Black people and their experiences are missing. But one scholar has made it her life’s work to call attention to the contributions of Afro-Germans. Her name is Katharina Oguntoye. She’s an Afro-German writer, historian, and activist and just won an Obermayer Award, which typically focuses on German Jewish history but this year also spotlighted Oguntoye for raising awareness of Black people in Germany.

Katharina Oguntoye is with young participants in Joliba, an intercultural association she founded that serves families from a wide variety of backgrounds. (Courtesy of Widen the Circle)

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This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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