In his book Nicht die Ersten (Not the First), Tarek Shukrallah has compiled personal stories from queer Black people and people of colour in Germany from the 1980s to the present day. The focus is on the voices of those who have experienced this history themselves. They tell it from their point of view. [The word queer is a term people use to describe themselves. For example, gay men, lesbian women, bisexual, trans, and inter people use it for themselves].
The book wants to change something: it criticises the fact that queer history is often told by white people. And that anti-racist struggles are often only described from a cis and heteronormative perspective. This means that the perspectives of queer and trans people are usually not taken into account when talking about racism.
The book asks: who tells history? When and how is it remembered? And it shows that struggles against oppression always have a history and a context.
The texts are intended to be encouraging—for current and future generations of queers of colour. They fight against racism, queerphobia, sexism, and capitalism, and for freedom, self-identification and justice.
With contributions from: Koray Yılmaz-Günay, Jasmin Eding, İpek İpekçioğlu, Cihangir Gümüstürkmen, Saideh Saadat-Lendle, Paisley Dalton, Tsepo Bollwinkel, Birol Işık, Zezé Soarez, Amir Saëmian, Jin Haritaworn, Newroz Çelik, Mina Jawad, Wassan Ali, and Thao Ho.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Kunsthalle or at the door on the day.
