A conversation with Chantal Bamgbala reveals how deeply racism is anchored in society and structure. She was the first woman of color to receive the Carinthian Human Rights Prize 2023 for her commitment to a more open society throughout Austria.
Born in Wolfsberg, grew up in St. Andrä, Ehrental technical school, high school diploma at the HTL Ferlach, studied applied cultural studies at the Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt and has been in Vienna for a year to study international development – actually a completely normal CV. If it weren’t for that, yes, if it weren’t for the color of skin, which still causes some people in Carinthia to make racist comments or even spit on them again and again: Chantal Bamgbala, however, refused to accept this and went to court. A man had regularly harassed her with statements such as “go picking cocoa beans” and other annoying things. The reason for their anti-racism workshopsThe trial in 2020, however, left the bitter realization that racism runs deeper because no law could be found that prohibits discrimination on the street. “This was also the decisive factor for me to do anti-racism workshops,” says the courageous student in an interview with the “Krone”. The media coverage of this issue angered the 25-year-old: “It gave the impression that it only affected this one person Husband and me – but it’s nothing out of the ordinary, as a person of color you live with it constantly.” But Bamgbala also addresses the media and their responsibility, because they are “guilty if, for example, images are imprinted through incorrect names.” In political matters When it comes to correctness, she has found that “adults in particular are afraid of saying something wrong.” Basically, “openness is needed,” in which Carinthia is still lagging behind. The Lavanttal native travels all over Austria to educate people with workshops and has so far reached around 2,000 students. In Salzburg, she organized a multi-day training course on anti-racism skills, and her project “Black Voices” aims to create a national action plan against racism in Austria. Festival for Diversity The likeable young woman has been organizing the “African Diaspora Festival” at Klagenfurt’s Kardinalplatz since 2020 “, to live the diversity in Austria with music, street food and dance in an open atmosphere. Constantly growing, over 1,000 people of all ages took part in the celebration last July, but the funding conditions make it impossible to continue: “I would have to advance thousands of euros, and the city of Klagenfurt doesn’t support it at all.” Many terms of political correctness come from English they have international significance and often do not work in translation. People of Color or Person of Color/PoC: is a self-chosen term for a wide variety of people who define themselves as non-white. BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color): is a term that refers to black, indigenous people and people of color. The term is intended to explicitly make black and indigenous identities visible in order to counteract anti-black racism and the invisibility of indigenous communities. Chantal Bamgbala’s committed activities did not go unnoticed – she was nominated for the Carinthian Human Rights Prize 2023 and received it on December 9th Radio Agora presented by Governor Peter Kaiser. Proud of the prize, she will use half of the 10,000 euros awarded for her own training so that she can continue to work on “good communal living”.
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