The singer Ronja Maltzahn (28) would have loved to have performed at the Fridays for Future protest event in Hanover. Her bad luck: she has the wrong hairstyle. This does not fit the “anti-colonialist and anti-racist narrative” of the event, as the climate protection movement told the amazed musician in a letter. Because of her appearance, Maltzahn will not be allowed to be there on Friday when demonstrations for climate protection are once again taking place in all German cities.
The appearance of Ronja Maltzahn was actually already planned. But a few days before the event, she was uninvited because of her dreadlocks. According to the Fridays for Future group in Hanover, “white people shouldn’t wear dreadlocks”. Maltzahn would “culturally appropriate” the hairstyle without experiencing the systematic oppression of black people, according to the message Maltzahn shared on Instagram.
Your only chance: “If you decide to cut off your dreadlocks by Friday, we would of course welcome you to the demo and let you play,” FFF Ronja Maltzahn shared. “We hope that you will deal with it.” In the meantime, a spokeswoman for FFF Hanover has confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
The singer is horrified: “It’s a shame that we are excluded from it because of external characteristics. We don’t want to discriminate against people because of their cultural origin, but rather give cultural diversity a stage, appreciate it and celebrate it.” She is disappointed: “We were looking forward to being able to set an example for peace and against discrimination with our music .”
Internet users shake their heads: “Narrow-minded”, “double standards”, “own goal”, say some. “If there is no real tolerance behind political correctness…”, explains another. Some go even further: “Paragon of discrimination. A real real certifiable own goal.” A fan sees racism here, exactly as it is defined.
The TV presenter Kena Amoa (51), son of a Ghanaian, writes: “What nonsense. How can a hairstyle be cultural appropriation?” One commentator referred to an article by FAZ journalist Leonie Feuerbach, in which she warned of the idea of cultural appropriation. Granting the use of cultural peculiarities only to members of certain peoples is reminiscent of the world view of the right-wing movements, which assume clearly definable cultures and fail to recognize that cultural mixing has existed for centuries.
