The All-Pervasiveness of Racism in Germany: Difficulties and Challenges in Addressing Racism

Racism is a societal imbalance relationship which structures social order, with social practices of difference, the construction of social groups and social meanings and inclusions and exclusions.

When looking at the mechanisms, attributions and manifestations of racism in Germany, global, European and national “lines of tradition” and histories of racism have a powerful effect. If one speaks about racism in Germany, its specific expressions and effects, the history of racism in Germany needs to be taken into consideration.

Studies show that racism today is institutionalised. For example in state employment agencies with regard to social security allotment or in institutions of education and social work and in the actions of professionals (Melter 2006, Flam 2007, Gomolla/Radtke 2007).

The focus of this paper will be on a reconstruction of a racist normality in Germany, constantly present as a societal relationship in the every day life of people to whom a migration history is attributed, as everyday occurrence and manifested in normalised practices of differentiation, isolation and exclusion. The analytic perspective of this paper will be on the subjective experience and interpretation and consequent strategies of action and negotiation of young people, whose everyday life is negatively impacted by racism.

In the international context of the conference it will be interesting to discuss with other researchers different discourse lines of racism and their influence on todays understanding of and acting on racism in the wold.

The research presented in this paper is based on group discussions, and problem-centred interviews with eight young adults (age 14-20). Part of the data was collected during a 4-day workshop with young adults with a migration background, where reflections and discussion about experiences and strategies among participants took place.