Barbara Becker
"You're treated differently, that's a fact"
Barbara Becker at a TV appearance.
© imago images / photo booth
All her life in Germany she had unpleasant experiences because of the color of her skin, says Barbara Becker.
Her two sons Noah (27) and Elias (21) have left the house: the designer and fitness expert Barbara Becker (54) has written a book about the Empty Nest Syndrome together with the journalist Christiane Soyke – "Mom alone House "(Verlag Graefe and Unzer). In an interview, the 54-year-old reveals how she is now alone in her whale home, Miami.
Don't you feel lonely at home in Miami at times?
Barbara Becker: Fortunately not, because I have my friends who also supported me when my children were little. I also distract myself with all sorts of projects like my new fascia app. Even after a break of 20 years, I started again to play golf once a week in the morning with other women from the advisory board of the Bass Museum. The first time I still had my old shoes with the spikes on and got astonished looks, because there were actually people who had never seen golf shoes like this before. The nice thing is that some of my friends are in the same phase of life right now. We celebrate life and the moment – just like the other day with a very loud inauguration party at my home.
You mean Joe Biden's inauguration day?
Becker: Exactly. In the morning I did my sports program, including jumping rope, so that we could toast the new President and especially Vice President Kamala Harris with champagne at lunchtime and celebrate properly. We put the big TV on the terrace, set up a small buffet and there I watched the ceremony for hours with five friends, four of whom are over 70 and already vaccinated. Like Kamala Harris, we all wore a pearl necklace and chucks to her as a sign of solidarity. Most of all, we told each other what our black fathers or grandmothers would have said had they seen this: a black woman as Vice President of the United States.
What does that mean for you in concrete terms?
Becker: All my life I had to struggle with the certainty of racism around me. I am very aware of what a dark skin color means for many people: namely that we have to stand in the second row. And now a woman has been elected to the US government who looks like us. It's a historic victory that gives hope. My grandmother experienced that she was not allowed to get on the same bus as the white people. She was spat at, threatened, insulted. And now this black woman was standing in front of the Capitol, putting her hand on the Bible to take her oath of office. It was an incredibly powerful symbol of equality and opened up unprecedented opportunities for women around the world.
How did you find the performance of the young poet Amanda Gorman?
Becker: We celebrated her so and listened to her poem three times because her words were so strong. This poem is called "spoken word" and many people here are probably not used to this form, because the words do not rhyme, it is a certain rhythm from the tradition of black culture. It's about how the words are pronounced and connected to each other. This creates this very special Sing-Sang, which is a pre-form of rap. Amanda had a speech impediment as a child and had to practice repeatedly to pronounce words correctly. That shaped her feeling for language. Your poem is a symbol for this time – looking back over the last few years, but also for the future. When I look at the generation of 20-year-olds, I have the great hope that the United States can regain the dignity and respect of yesteryear when looking at the world. The youth will turn our world in the right direction again. This is my big hope.
You had toyed with the idea of leaving the United States for a while. Do you feel more comfortable in Florida again?
Becker: I feel a change and I love living in Miami. On the other hand, the people who stormed the Capitol are still there. All of a sudden everything is not in the sun. Before the last election, I often tried to talk to Trump supporters, but I can't talk to many of them because they don't see me as equals. This problem exists all over the world, I notice waves of increasing racism and unfortunately the "Black Lives Matter" movement has still not reached everyone's mind. Not even in Germany, although the rights of all people, whether white or black, are anchored in the Basic Law as the same. We must all strive to treat and listen to one another with respect and empathy.
Did you have unpleasant experiences in Germany because of the color of your skin?
Becker: All my life. The gatekeeper won't open a door for me, my luggage will be searched again at the airport or the taxi driver won't pick me up. Friends of mine who live in Berlin say that they are spat at and insulted. You're treated differently, that's a fact. The fact that I can still live the way I want today is thanks to people who sacrificed their freedom, who fought for equal rights for all people regardless of skin color. I am very aware of this and I am infinitely grateful for it.