ABSTRACT
German youths saunter through the shopping malls wearing Fubu crop tops and baggy Ecko pants; they dance to the rhythm and blues of R. Kelly in the clubs, rap along with Shaggy on their ghetto blasters, and greet each other with elaborate hip-hop hand gestures; young athletes wear bandanas or “raised” Rocawear hats and thick gold necklaces while playing streetball or counting rebounds in televised NBA games or attending breakdance workshops at local youth centers; cornrows compete with dreadlocks as popular unisex hair styles; and teenagers of both sexes maintain their summer tans in fitness studio solariums. Young people flock to Lauryn Hill concerts to hear her open confession of faith, and Christian youth groups conduct church services based on gospel singing and Martin Luther King, Jr. speeches. African American (women’s) novels, notably those of Toni Morrison, are now staples of school and college syllabi, with courses in African American studies very much in demand. The European MTV programming is dominated by black groups, Denzel Washington and Will Smith are but two of countless top black movie star idols, and sitcoms focusing on African American families abound. Newspapers feature huge photos of Michael Jordan or Venus and Serena Williams or Tiger Woods in full sports action.“Mr. Deutschland 2002” is a 28-year-old African German Lufthansa pilot. Any teenage conversation is dotted with slang perceived as African American, such as “man,”“to diss” (meaning to criticize), the omnipresent “cool,” or the affectionate greeting “Whassup nigga?” For the young people in Germany, “black” is undeniably in.
