Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung 33d ago

Memory in Dialogue What does listening mean when young people encounter history not just as knowledge, but through direct, lived encounters? The documentary Echoes Across the Atlantic follows 12 remembrance activists from Berlin's "Erinnern" working group. They are between 18 and 26 years old, many with migration backgrounds and experiences of racism. On their journey to New Orleans, they meet descendants of formerly enslaved people at plantations and memorial sites. They listen, allow themselves to be challenged, and discover how closely German colonial history, European slave trade, and ongoing forms of violence in the US are intertwined. The film is not a classic travelogue, but rather traces a process of engagement: moments of silence in front of historical sites, encounters with descendants and activists as well as reflections on dignity, invisibility and belonging. How does a sense of historical responsibility emerge through listening and encounter? What role do memorial sites and narratives play in centering marginalized perspectives? And what steps are needed to derive concrete forms of recognition, redress and change? These and other questions will be discussed with: - Dr. Joy Banner, Co-Founder, The Descendants Project, USA - Dr. Karlos Hill, Black History Professor, University of Oklahoma, USA - Bernard Laulian Ntahondi, Historian, Curator, Tanzania - particpants of the “Erinnern” working group Comment by Awet Tesfaiesus, Member of the Bundestag, Group Coordinator for the Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs for Alliance 90/The Greens Moderation: Josephine Apraku, African studies scholar and author