Know the Past, Interpret the Present, Shape the Future—Part 2

After leading an event series in 2024, BSMG—the collective of Black German hip hop artists Megaloh, Ghanaian Stallion, Musa, and Amewu—presents part two of Know the Past, Interpret the Present, Shape the Future. With a three-part programme comprising a concert, a workshop, and a panel discussion, BSMG and numerous attendees react to contemporary sociopolitical shifts and search for future horizons, particularly for marginalized people in Germany affected by discrimination. The process will be radical, collaborative, and self-determined.

At the centre stand the following questions: How to address the global rightward shift? How to address systemic inequality and racial violence? What does empowerment mean in times of global uncertainty? What options are there for strengthening communities?

Falling somewhere between musical resistance, a defensive stance, diasporic knowledge transfer, and practical self-organization, the programme seeks to create an experiential space for Black, African, and migrant communities. The events are explicitly oriented towards people who are affected by social exclusion—as well as anyone interested in a just, post-national, and anti-racist future.

Know the Past, Interpret the Present, Shape the Future—Part 2 takes place as part of the exhibition opening for Global Fascisms at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and is part of the heimaten Festival for Plural Democracy.