A Black German renaissance? after an entire century of Black German activism and creativity, it seems like never before have Black Germans been so visible to a global audience. Pop stars such as Zoe Wees have taken over the music charts in europe, and actors such as florence Kasumba and Zazie Beetz appear on the big and small screens in blockbuster films such as Black Panther and in tv shows such as Atlanta, Tatort, and Deutschland 86. sharon dodua Otoo and Olivia Wenzel have published novels with major German publishing houses, and filmmakers like Mo asumang and Branwen Okpako have premiered works at international film festivals to great acclaim. representing one of the fastest growing populations in German-speaking europe, Black Germans are not only part of Germany's present but also part of Germany's past. 1 scholars dedicated to documenting, analyzing, and exploring the political, intellectual, social, and cultural work and legacies of Black people in German-speaking europe have also become more present in academic institutions.Make no mistake: after decades of teaching, research, and agitation for institutional change in both north american and German academic institutions, Black scholars and those committed to researching Black people, experiences, and cultures within the context of German-speaking europe still face marginalization. With the first-ever issue of German Quarterly dedicated to Black Germany, it has become clear that Black German thought and praxis are becoming ever more vital to academic scholarship. nonetheless, the purpose of this special issue is not only to showcase some of the vibrant work underway in our field but also to point out the ongoing systemic challenges that still prevent the majority of students and teachers, as well as wider publics, from having engaged with a Black German text or even knowing of a Black German figure.Our aim in this introduction, therefore, is not to reiterate well-known narratives among scholars in Black German studies that usually begin with the 1986 publication of Farbe bekennen. 2 rather, we seek to accomplish two discrete goals: first, to name outright the institutional structures that have shaped the field of Black German studies since the mid-to-late twentieth century and, in so doing, to identify how systemic racism in both europe and the United states has de-
359The German Quarterly 95.4 (fall 2022) ©2022, american association of teachers of German