HARLEM TO BERLIN, KINGSTON TO FREIBURG:

A Shared Listening Connection Celebrating Audre Lorde’s 92nd Birthday

@JOS FRITZ  BUCHHANDLUNG

Wednesday  18. 2. 17: 30

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde (1934–1992), the Harlem-born poet, activist, and self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” transformed every world she entered. Through what she called the practice of naming oneself; she asserted identity, desire, power, and purpose as inseparable forces of liberation. Her birth week is, for many, a time of gratitude and reflection within Black feminist and LGBTQ+ traditions.

Between 1984 and 1992, Lorde lived, taught, and worked in Berlin, where she inspired Afro-German women and queer communities alike, leaving a lasting imprint on the city’s Black feminist and lesbian movements. Her time there became a vital hub of ideas, activism, and poetry. Lorde challenged both white feminist exclusions and patriarchal norms within Black communities, insisting that systems of oppression cannot be understood in isolation. Race, gender, sexuality, and class are interlocking, she argued, and any vision of justice must be radically inclusive and queer in its refusal of single-issue politics.

Audre Lorde:

• Created spaces for Black voices to gather and speak truth to power.
• Practiced intersectional feminism through workshops, lectures, and poetry.
• Celebrated Black art and literature, inspiring documentation of Black lives.
• Advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and challenged homophobia.
• Mentored new generations of activists, emphasizing care, reflection, and action.