ADEFRA e.V. – Black Women in Germany is an active cultural-political forum by and for Black women.
The association was founded in the mid-1980s, initially as “Afro German Women” and later as “Black Women in Germany,” as one of the first associations of Black Germans in the postwar period and formed in parallel with the “Initiative Black People in Germany” (ISD). A group of Black activists were brought together at that time by the work and residencies of the Caribbean-American feminist theorist, poet and activist Audre Lorde in Berlin and inspired to found ADEFRA. Cf. the description of ADEFRA e.V.
“The activism of Black women in Germany is central to the existence and formation of the Black movement in Germany. This is relevant in the context of movement theories, as the role of women actors in social movements is often marginalized (in retrospect). In the German case, Black lesbian activists of the 1980s are not only considered to have driven the formulation of a Black feminist standpoint in Germany, but also to have provided impetus and structure for the emergence of an organized Black community. The production of knowledge about ‘Blackness in Germany’ has been shaped in a lasting way by the visions, encounters, exchanges, and critical reflections of Black activists.” Self Description of ADEFRA e.V.