Gary Younge, journalist, broadcaster, award-winning author, and Professor of Sociology joined the latest ‘Inclusive Sussex: In Conversation with’ event on Monday 10 February. Currently specialising in the Black post-war experience in Europe, Gary gave a compelling presentation on the experiences of Black Germans in Nazi Germany and what that tells us about the particularities of different systems of racial oppression including antisemitism.
Gary explored the Nazis’s treatment of Black people and Jews and discussed how systems of racial oppression can be systemic and sometimes also systematic; how anti-Black racism and antisemitism both differ and overlap.
Following the talk, Gary joined a panel discussion with Professor David Ruebain, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality and Inclusion); Dr Naaz Rashid, Co-Director, Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies and Associate Professor in Media and Cultural Studies; and Dr Gerhard Wolf, Associate Professor in History. The audience had the opportunity to share their thoughts during a question and answer session.
David Ruebain said: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome Gary to Sussex to speak about some of the themes in his recent research. Gary is a writer and speaker of huge renown and discussed his research with considerable generosity and nuance. The event also supports our project to surface understandings of different forms of racism and religious discrimination.”
View images from the event and watch the replay below.
Considering whether Black people were systematically targeted in Nazi Germany in a similar way to Jews, Gary said: “While a system was in place, when it came to Black people its implementation was inconsistent and the ideology underpinning it less well rehearsed and formally scripted than for others. In short, while their persecution was systemic, it was not systematic. Visible difference marked them out as inferior and to be excluded, but [did not instruct] how to handle that inferiority. So Black Germans existed in these liminal spaces where the threat of annihilation was omnipresent but where the ultimate fate was unpredictable.”
He spoke further on the impact of visible difference, noting that whilst it is a common feature of racist systems, it is not universal. He added “A system constructed with, and through, racial control will by its nature be prone to absurdities, contradictions and inconsistencies. We start with the fact that race itself is a construct, a nonsense to make sense out of the system that racism has made. The definition of who or what is Black or white or other shifts with time and place.”
During the panel discussion, Dr Wolf agreed with Gary’s argument that unlike Jews, Black people had not been tied into Germany’s story of decline, adding that “unpicking them from this story was just not a priority for the Nazi party. This anchoring of racism in the political debates of the past and present I think is really important.” Later, Dr Rashid continued: “It's really important to understand the particularities and specificities… In my own work I do a lot of work on Islamophobia, or anti-Muslim racism as I prefer to call it, because it is about drawing on continuities and parallels.”
About the event series
The ‘Inclusive Sussex: In Conversation with’ event series supports our Inclusive Sussex strategy by exploring issues of liberation, equality, diversity and justice with voices from all walks of life, bringing their expertise and lived experiences to the fore.
Sussex has a proud history of welcoming staff and students from the widest range of backgrounds and from all over the world, and in working to create a truly inclusive community that values diversity of identity, background, belief, thought, discipline and method. We continue to strive for Sussex to be a leading example of good practice in advancing equality, diversity and inclusion and a place which welcomes rigorous discussion and debate and where everyone can thrive.
This work supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal: SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). You can read more about our work on the SDGs.