A supporting program against racist realities. In memory of February 19 in Hanau.

Curator: Aisha Camara. Storytelling Salon: Hadija Haruna-Oelker

The Kids are Alright.
But they have to fight.

“We want our children to have a better life”, said the parents when they came to Germany – and watched their children grow up with racism. The video installation features the voices of six people with different backgrounds of migration talking about intergenerational conflicts, political struggles and visions for the future.
What can we do to have a better life? What is better and what is not? We are looking for answers to these questions. In conversations. In stories. In spaces.
Whether it's Hanau, Halle or everyday racism: racist violence is a continuous phenomenon in Germany. And for many people, a way “out” - towards a fairer world - seems unattainable. Especially now, with the massive shift to the right and multiple global crises, many people feel powerless. So how can we not give up hope? Especially since for those who are affected, such as the bereaved families of the victims of Hanau, the struggle continues anyway.
We should, we must support each other.
And so the supporting program not only focuses on “The Kids are Alright” and the voices and visions associated with it, but also expands them: What spaces and strategies do we need for us to connect?

Friday, 16 February

2.00 pm
opening speech with Mayor Dr. Nargess Eskandari Grünberg

2.00–6.00 pm, Mousonturm Studio 1
Talks with Experts / Input / Exchange

How do we translate political discourse about remembrance into art and culture? How do cultural practitioners affected by discrimination get the space they need? What does intersectional practice look like? A space for exchange.

With: Tessa Hart, Dan Thy Nguyen, Dr. Hannah Peaceman, Gabriela Mayungu, Dr. Harpreet Cholia, Mirrianne Mahn and others

7.00–9.30 pm, Mousonturm Studio 1
The Kids are alright x BHM Storytelling Salon

An evening as part of Black History Month. Young, gifted and black. From childhood onwards, people are in relationships with their environment. Childhoods reveal who we are, what others make of us and where we stand in society. What do black children learn about themselves? And how do they protect themselves from dangers that only apply to them? This storytelling evening is about listening to their voices. It is an inventory and retrospective of the speakers, who talk about how they were able to develop and feel encouraged despite external opinions: What did they need as children, what things were useful to them and what message do they pass on to their own children? Growing up empowered requires strategies - especially now.

Storytellers: theatre maker Simone Dede Ayivi, education expert Emilene Wopana, students Imani Klett and Saran Kämmerer, accessibility advisor and singer Latoya Reitzner and singer Chima Onyele.

The BHM is celebrated in many countries and honours the history of Black people. The event is in cooperation with the Frankfurt regional group of the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD), which celebrates the BHM annually with a storytelling salon that recalls the tradition of "oral history".

Supported by the US Consulate General Frankfurt.

Saturday, 17 February

2.00 pm, Hanau, Kurt-Schumacher-Platz
Say Their Names - National commemorative demonstration

4 years after the racist terrorist attack
Further information: 19feb-hanau.org

6.00 & 7.30 pm, Mousonturm Saal

Performances of „The Kids Are Alright“, followed by talks with the audience and the theatre makers as well as Dan Thy Nguyen and Nabila Bushra, protagonists of the piece.

Sunday, 18 February

2.00–5.00 pm, Mousonturm Studio 1
Voices about Hanau

When I think of Hanau... As part of the supporting program “The Kids Are Alright. But They Have to Fight.” to commemorate February 19 in Hanau, curated by Aisha Camara, there will be a reading in Studio 1 of  Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm. “Voices about Hanau” brings together intergenerational and intersectional perspectives by young authors, commissioned texts about Hanau and excerpts from existing texts. Authors Mirianne Mahn and Furat Abdulle, actors from the educational initiative Ferhat Unvar, rapper and poet Rasyree and rapper and songwriter Nurtch will moderate the evening together with others.

Supportet by the Office for Multicultural Affairs Frankfurt am Main

Monday, 19 February, Saal

09.00 am & 10.30 am

School performances of „The Kids Are Alright“, followed by a moderated talk with the educational initiative Ferhat Unvar.

13.15 Uhr,  Studio 1

Lecture of the educational initiative Ferhat Unvar.