"Service book" for whites: "We help people who do not know enough about racism"

SPIEGEL: Mrs. Hasters, is it annoying to talk about racism as a black person?

Hasters: There is often a demand on non-white people that they are experts and have to have answers. People often came to me - for example at parties - and asked me about my racist experiences. I can understand very well when you say, "I do not have to do that for you, I do not have to explain anything to anyone." If the Reni Eddo Lodge or myself or all the other people do it on a daily basis, then we help people who do not know enough about racism. Of course with the interest that white people change their behavior. I would wish that white people talk about racism not only with non-white people, but with other white people because it should also be discussed among whites.

SPIEGEL: On a blog, you wrote a column about identity and racism, what was your trigger for writing a book?

Hasters: He started with the federal election, it was a day in September 2017, in which I was funny because I knew that the AfD would come to the Bundestag. I felt the need to send it to the world and wrote a Facebook post. Based on that, I wrote the column. Then I realized that I have so much to say, and realized that there is still much need for explanation for people who seemed overwhelmed or confused - that's how the book came into being.

SPIEGEL: What did you write on Facebook back then?

Hasters: Everyone thought it stupid that the AfD comes to the Bundestag - at least in my bladder. But for me, as a black person, that meant something else again. That meant that I personally felt threatened or attacked. That I'm scared that things can change, that work against me, that can work against my mother and family, work against many other people who are also affected by racism. The AfD is a party that wants to split between the "real Germans" and those who are not really German. On the day two years ago, I had to think of my paternal grandparents, that is, of my white grandparents, because now I am also experiencing a shift to the right. With my two sisters, I often jokingly considered where you would go if you could not live in Germany anymore. On that day, it did not feel like a joke anymore - it was like a plan B.

SPIEGEL: In your book, you do not address the AfD. Why?

Hasters: Racism was there before the AfD and I do not want people to rest on the fact that they would never vote for the AfD and therefore do not feel addressed, according to the motto: racists are just Nazis, and racists are just people who choose the AfD. I do not want to go beyond that, that's why I left it out.

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Alice Hasters
What white people do not want to hear about racism: but should know

Publishing company:

hanserblau

Pages:

208

Price:

EUR 17,00

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SPIEGEL: How do you react when it is said: Not another book about racism?

Hasters: There are people who react like this: "Oh no, not again racism, we have understood that now, that can go away, do not hesitate to talk about it." Racism has been in our society for 500 years. That's not something that's cleared up quickly. The topic is far from over. I'm sorry, we're only at the beginning - there's something else to come.

SPIEGEL: Can racism be overcome?

Hasters: I believe that one can adopt an attitude against racist structures and fight against ways of thinking. That means acknowledging that racism is not something you get rid of by simply deciding that you're not a racist. We do not know the world where racism does not exist, so honestly I do not know.

SPIEGEL: Are people affected by racism free from racism?

Hasters: The difference is that racism works against you. That is, if you are not free of racist patterns of thought, then you are not free from self-hatred and humiliation. This is something that does not have to be done by white people. Resist and acknowledge that their perspective on the world is no less valuable, that they themselves are worth no less. It also means that you do not have to make it your goal to become like white people.

SPIEGEL: You write that white people would find it uncomfortable to call themselves white.

Hasters: I've noticed that many people find it funny to call me black. They are uncomfortable with the topic of skin color and racialization, because they do not know to be a category and not a neuter, which can escape this whole racial discourse. There are blacks, Asian people, indigenous people - but white people are somehow not in their opinion.

SPIEGEL: Your book was titled "What white people do not want to hear about racism, but should know". How so?

Hasters: I have seen that people are almost creative in how they resist the recognition of racism in our society. All these defenses: "Have you ever seen it that way?", "Well, actually, if you take it exactly" or "That's racist now, if you call me white." It is a service book with the intention of broadening the discourse and understanding of racism - and ushering in a phase where we can not jump back to the question of racism at all. There are many who raise their hands and say, "I have never dealt with it." At some point, that's no excuse anymore. You should just know certain things!