Language-Learning Access & Inclusion for Black German Adoptees

Anderson Language and Technology Center; Black German Heritage and Research Association

The Anderson Language and Technology Center (ALTEC) at the University of Colorado Boulder is proud to partner with the Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA). Through ALTEC’s non-credit language program, we are teaching a free introductory German language class specially designed for Black German postwar adoptees and their families, who seek to find and connect with their German birth families and heritage. Dr. Emily Frazier-Rath, BGHRA Executive Director and ALTEC German Language Lecturer, will create a safe space where participants belong to a shared community as they explore German language and culture, and strive to give back a piece of heritage that was lost or stolen. This class will provide participants with language basics such as introducing yourself and having short conversations. The summer 2022 class will meet remotely on Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 7 to June 30, at 7-8:15pm Eastern Time.

Black German postwar adoptees and their families are invited to enroll. Those who are not part of this cohort or are unsure should email emfrazierrath@davidson.edu for permission to participate in this class.

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Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Once connected to their birth families, many of these adoptees want to begin learning German, both to better connect with their newly found kin, and to gain access to documentation and archives in German. In addition, we seek ways to foster community among former adoptees and their families, and to do so in safe spaces, with instructors who understand their desires for German language acquisition, or their desires to simply be in proximity with the German language. This postwar cohort of Black Germans were often forcibly adopted to families abroad and, as a result, linguistic and cultural links to their native Germany were severed. This project seeks to support their journey, broaden and diversify ALTEC’s program, as well as serve as a model for inclusive language teaching practices that can be replicated at CU Boulder and beyond.