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Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
Maya Angelou
The Conversations
Los Angeles
The kick-off of the discussion series was in Los Angeles, where Mohamed Amjahid and Max Czollek discussed political activism and diversity with Priscilla Layne, one of the pioneers of Black German Studies and a Professor of German and African American Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Houston
The discussion continued in Houston, where Max Czollek and Corinne Kaszner from the Institute for Social Justice & Radical Diversity discussed how art and curation can be expressive modes for Radical Diversity with Houston-based curators Jeannette “Joy” Harris and Ashley DeHoyos.
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Seattle
In the Seattle edition of the series, Mohamed Amjahid discussed questions of liminality and safer spaces for artists, activists, and communities in gentrified neighborhoods with Elisheba Johnson, co-founder of the Black art center Wa Na Wari, writer and filmmaker Charles Mudede, and Rana San, Artistic Director of Northwest Film Forum.
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Mexico City
At the end of October 2020, the series continued in Mexico City, where Max Czollek spoke to three independent curators from Mexico City: Violeta Horcasitas, Clara Bolívar (Tlaxcala3) and Alí Cotero (Tlaxcala3). They discussed the current state of critical curatorial practices, both within the context of the Mexican museum and outside it. They also examined the structural and social “walls” one encounters in Mexico.
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Montreal
The fifth edition of the discussion series was hosted by the Goethe-Institut Montreal, where Mohamed Amjahid spoke with Art Historian Charmaine Nelson about white knowledge production, looking back from a Black-Canadian perspective and a new era for Anthropology and Social Sciences.
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Boston
In the last discussion of 2020, hosted by the Goethe-Institut Boston, Max Czollek and Mohamed Amjahid spoke with an anthropologist and an award-winning podcaster about the role of Jewish and Muslim communities in contemporary society. Researcher Sultan Doughan and journalist/podcaster Rachael Cerrotti approach the subject from very different perspectives: one is scientific, one is personal.
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Washington, D.C.
The first installment of the discussion series in 2021 was hosted by the Goethe-Institut Washington, D.C., where Mohamed Amjahid and Max Czollek spoke with Dr. Imani Woody about LGBTQI+ / SGL housing and related issues for the community, such as homelessness, social isolation, economic insecurity, health issues, and age discrimination.
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San Francisco
For this year’s second installment of Radical Diversity hosted by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco we invited Abby Abinanti, Chief Judge for the Yurok Tribe in Klamath/California. The Yurok Tribe is currently the largest in California, with more than 6,000 enrolled members. Max Czollek and Mohamed Amjahid spoke with Abby Abinanti about differences in value systems and traditions, about her way of helping revive the tribe’s values, and her community-based, restorative approach to justice.
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About the project
How is radical diversity approached in Germany and North America? What can we learn from one another by taking a deeper look at the components of radical diversity and the different perspectives on them?
Max Czollek (“De-integrate Yourselves”) and Mohamed Amjahid (“Among Whites: What It Means to Be Privileged”) are two Millennial generation voices that have emerged from Germany in recent years. With a critical, multidimensional approach, Czollek and Amjahid examine the challenges faced by German and North American societies, as well as various visions for progress, by discussing them with experts in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Our Partners
“Radical Diversity” is a discussion series presented by several Goethe-Institut locations in North America in collaboration with its Goethe Pop Ups, the Thomas Mann House, and the Institute for Social Justice & Radical Diversity under the sponsorship of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung North America.
