On Sunday, Denis Scheck, one of Germany’s preeminent literary critics, painted his face black and went on TV to make the case that children’s books from an earlier era should not be rewritten get rid of terms like Neger. In German, the word translates roughly to “Negro” and, though once standard, is now considered outdated [...]
Lolo Jones Assists US Team Win Gold at World Championships
January 28, 2013 | Posted by
Olympic 100-meter hurdler Lolo Jones assisted the United States team in winning gold on Sunday in the combined bobsled-skeleton team event at the world championships held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. This is Jones’ first gold medal in her short bobsledding career, which began shortly after her disappointing performance at the 2012 London Olympics. She failed [...]
Obama Congratulated by Slew of World Leaders, from South Africa to Germany
November 7, 2012 | Posted by
Congratulations to President Obama poured in from leaders around the world whose enthusiasm was largely dictated by their nation’s current relationship with the United States. Obama is probably much more popular abroad among regular citizens than among their leaders—as was evident by the images streamed across the world of celebrations taking place in countries as [...]
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Bruce Norris Calls Out German Practice of Casting Whites in Black Roles
October 22, 2012 | Posted by
The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Bruce Norris has called for a boycott in Germany of theater productions in which white actors are cast in roles explicitly written for black performers. In a letter addressed to fellow members of the Dramatists Guild, a trade association for writers, Mr. Norris condemned such casting, which he described as widespread [...]
Germany, Almost Forgotten But Great Vacation Destination
August 5, 2012 | Posted by
Ask people where they want to go on their European holidays and if they’re not heading to the beaches of the Mediterranean they’ll most likely tell you about Paris, London, Barcelona or Venice. Some may head east to Prague, Krakow or Budapest. Yet despite being the most populous European country (excluding Russia) Germany hardly ever [...]
Germany Elects First Black Mayor
June 6, 2012 | Posted by
A 40-year-old man who had been employed by Germany’s national investigative police agency has been elected the country’s first black mayor. Der Spiegel reported John Ehret, whose father was an African-American soldier and mother a native German, took the post Friday in Mauer near Heidelberg in southern Germany, The Local.de said. Ehret, who did little [...]
