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Statement on M29 house project’s Racism and Illegal Eviction of Four of Its Members

This is a public statement from a group of four individuals who faced blatant discrimination and illegal eviction by the white German residents of the M29 house project. We are Black and trans people, struggling with precarious income and visa status in Germany. Our vocal pro-Palestinian stance, heavily criminalized in Germany, is central to our liberation struggle. The M29 house project has issued various conspiratorial statements (first statement and second statement) against us, and we are forced to publicly share our experience, despite still being in shock,  to expose the dangerous politics and social failures of M29, ensuring no other Black or Brown person endures such horrors in political communal spaces.

From its inception, the M29 house project has been plagued with racism and anti-Blackness. Founded by white German cis individuals, issues of white fragility, vigilantism, and anti-Black racism were embedded from the start. Some white residents have attempted to address their racism through the unpaid labor of their Black housemates and paid workshops. Despite the efforts of unpaid Black and Brown residents, including us, our concerns were ignored. Instead of confronting their racism and committing to lifelong anti-racist co-living, the white residents reacted with white vigilantism and fragility as it shows in their second conspiratorial public statement "We understand that we mobilize our power structures to be able to do that." (Second Statement House Project M29 – Hausprojekt M29, 2024, May 8). They often used their inherent racism as an excuse, making statements like, "How can I be anti-racist in a racist society?" and "You just seem not comfortable with me because of the color of my skin." They also said, "All of it (to become anti-racist) takes time to be processed. To me, the sense of urgency is a white, capitalist, and ableist concept." and "I am not a redneck. I am a radical leftist and I know what racism is." in response to why the house hasn’t been safe for Black people and specifically for the Black person who went on the hunger strike.

One of us documented over 60 pages of anti-Black racism experienced - Wilful Anti-Black Racism by Choice in M29 house project -  between May and July 2023, highlighting that M29 is structurally anti-Black racist. M29’s public statements using racialized identities to absolve themselves are disgusting. We won’t fall for this insidious trap.

Racist and transmisogyny incidents and daily microaggressions are too numerous to detail here. One major escalation involved one of us going on a hunger strike to highlight the oppression faced in the house, an incident well-documented by an independent black anti-racist association. 

Recently, one of us painted a pro-Palestinian slogan on the building’s facade. Although M29 claims to support Palestinian liberation, some white German residents deemed the slogan offensive, threatening to call the police. The police arrived on May 5th, erased the slogan, and one of the white German residents who deemed the slogan offensive facilitated their entry, threatening further “100” police action. It is unacceptable for white German residents to claim to be pro-Palestinian while policing our language by German government censorship standards. Following the police raid, we called comrades and friends, issuing a call on social media to keep us safe in the last room we thought was safe while figuring out what was happening. The white German residents used this as another excuse to escalate. An eviction notice citing anti-Semitism — which is often wrongly weaponized by the German state and similar regimes to suppress free speech, particularly targeting Palestinian, Black, Brown, and Jewish voices— and other malicious allegations were issued by housemates to other housemates who are deemed a minority in number rather than opinion. The house project’s statement only acknowledges Palestinian suffering without recognizing it as genocide.The house projects statement here on the matter says it all

Shame on those who criminalize us while claiming to be a safe space for racialized and marginalized people. Your leftist politics mean nothing without commitment to protecting each other from any oppression including state oppression, not just the select few deemed respectable and worthy.

On May 7th, without prior notice, two of us woke up to an eviction notice taped to our door, giving us four days to leave. This was illegal under German law, which requires a minimum three-month notice and a court order for eviction.  In the meantime, white residents, joined by over tens of unfamiliar people, had a party, waving copy of the eviction notices in our faces, intimidating and outnumbering us. This level of humiliation is beyond disgusting, especially from a self-proclaimed leftist household.

How dare you push us out of our home with only four days’ notice which you didn’t even adhere to? How dare you celebrate such violence while we scramble for legal, financial, and emotional support? On the night of May 9th, once again unfamiliar white masked individuals with riot gear tried to forcefully evict us, pushing against us with objects, including woods with rusted screws/nails. The police, called twice, abused us, telling us we had no rights and issuing a restraining order, displacing us with all our belongings, including life-saving medications, left behind.

Our belongings were illegally packed and stored by the same white people who kicked us out by violence. The white German residents, along with a "Person of Color" (who admitted last summer, with evidence, to intentionally exposing a highly infectious disease to a Black baby under a year old — while protecting the rest of the house, mostly the white residents, from the infection per doctor's instructions. an incident that triggered one of us to go on a hunger strike — claimed victimhood. This "Person of Color" openly believes in reverse racism and accuses Black people of "playing the race card" when complaining about anti-Black racism. They labeled us as perpetrators of violence and unsafety, stating we are "unfit to live in a community like M29 due to our deplorable mental state."

We never called that person a "black baby killer"—which they seem to be using to create a confusing narrative which is prevalent in their so-called statements and evade accountability both personal and at the communal level. Instead, we accurately described the incident as an intent to harm a vulnerable Black baby, and the house collectively agreed with us at the time while downplaying the impact such as this statement - the person who intended to hurt that baby “... is aware that hugging the kid was a mistake.”

The imbalance of power, privilege, and cultural and financial capital must be addressed. Our efforts to create a buffer zone from their violence and abuse by retreating to the furthest available rooms to keep ourselves safe were twisted into reasons for the white residents to claim victimhood. This is an abuse of power and a racist projection.

We have supporting evidence for all the arguments and facts mentioned in this statement. We are prepared to present this evidence in any justice tribunal, whether it be restorative, transformative, or punitive.

  Demands:

1. Preservation of Evidence: Immediate preservation of all house mailing list emails, financial records, legal contracts, group chat messages, media, and similar data as evidence. Non-compliance is illegal under GDPR, especially amidst conflicts involving M29 Hausprojekt GmbH members.
2. Return to Residence: Immediate reinstatement to the house where we have resided legally and morally.
3. Return of Belongings: Immediate return of our belongings to our rooms from which they were taken without consent.
4. Public Acknowledgement: Public acknowledgment of the anti-Black racist and transmisogynistic actions by M29 white German residents.
5. Anti-Discrimination Training: Implementation of anti-racist and anti-discrimination training and policies within M29, led by black and trans professionals.
6. Accountability: Holding accountable those responsible for the illegal eviction and associated abuses.

Justice must be served. Solidarity is essential to ensure no other Black or Brown person endures such experiences in any political communal space.