Statement from TU Berlin: We Oppose Discrimination and Racism

University supports Professor Dr. Maisha M. Auma against racist attacks

The statement

Berlin, 15 February 2021

Technische Universität Berlin is committed to supporting and promoting the diversity of its members, protecting them from every form of discrimination, and preventing both structural racism and sexism. This is what we stand for and what we are striving to achieve by making these goals integral parts of our long-term strategy.

This includes speaking out when a member of our academic community is personally subjected to defamation and hostile attempts to discredit them. Professor Dr. Maisha M. Auma is currently the target of fierce racist attacks. Professor Auma is a visiting professor at Technische Universität Berlin.

Scientific findings rely on and are unthinkable without a wide range of different perspectives and life experiences and trajectories. The diversity of our members is therefore essential to the scientific work of our university. It is precisely this diversity that enables science to contribute to a free and just development of society.

We see it as our duty to offer all members of our university a fair opportunity to participate. The presence and active involvement of Black and People of Color is for us a natural aspect of life at our university. However, to achieve our goals we also need to examine issues of marginalization, exclusion and injustice in our institutions. The Berlin University Alliance, of which TU Berlin is also a member, is committed to this goal. The visibility of the academic achievements of Black and People of Color is essential for us, and enriches both the generation of knowledge and our society.

However, we currently find ourselves in a situation where it is necessary to shore up the foundations of free democratic society and thus our university. This is more important than ever at a time when scientists and scholars, entire areas of scientific endeavor, and research findings are publicly discredited, attacked and even denied.

Technische Universität Berlin will not tolerate the defamation of Maisha M. Auma and sees it as its duty to take a clear stand. We express and demonstrate our solidarity with this internationally renowned academic. We view Maisha M. Auma’s presence and work at TU Berlin as a huge enrichment and we have already benefited from the new impetus she has provided.

We invite all members of TU Berlin to show active solidarity by signing this statement. 

The Executive Board of TU Berlin

Professor Dr. Christian Thomsen, President of TU Berlin

Professor Dr.-Ing. Christine Ahrend, Vice President for Research, Appointment Strategy, Knowledge &Technology Transfer

Professor Dr. Hans-Ulrich Heiß, Vice President for Education, Digitalization, and Sustainability

Professor Dr. Angela Ittel, Vice President for Strategic Development, Junior Scholars, and Teacher Education

Lars Oeverdieck, Acting Vice President for Administration

Your voice against racism and discrimination - list of supporters

The following people have joined the call of the TU Berlin Executive Board and signed the statement.

  • Prof. Dr. Manfred Thüring
  • Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Henning J. Meyer
  • Stefanie Terp
  • Susanne Cholodnicki
  • Nico Rudolph
  • Prof. Dr. Sophia Becker
  • Prof. Dr. André Fiebig
  • Malina Lauterbach
  • Dr. Inka Greusing
  • Prof. Dr. Enrico Gualini
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Hinkelmann
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Müller
  • Prof. Dr. Jens Wickert
  • Prof. Dr. Uffa Jensen
  • Prof. Dr. Jörg Liesen
  • Prof. Dr. Søren Salomo
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Siegel
  • Laura Nübler MSc
  • Prof. Dr. Sabine Hark
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Julia Kowal
  • Ramona Ehret
  • Imke Scholz
  • Prof. Dr. Thorsten Roelcke
  • Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinle
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gleixner
  • Lia Strenge
  • Germano Schafaschek
  • Prof. Dr. Ulf Schrader
  • Uta Gliem
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Bickermann
  • Thies Johannsen
  • Ass. iur. Constantin Kluge
  • Jocelyn M. Keller
  • Dr. Jannik Schritt
  • Vanicha Weirauch
  • Wenke Seemann
  • Dr. Mirabbos Hojamberdiev
  • Martin Henk
  • Christina Camier
  • Anja Dötsch-Nguyen
  • Khaliun Badrakh
  • Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Kristin Wellner,
  • Dr. Hannah Fitsch
  • Caya Prill
  • Nina Baur
  • PD Dr. Jan Pfetsch
  • Johann Vinkeloe
  • Natalie Olesiak
  • Dr. Andrea Adams
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Neda Djordjevic
  • Dr. Konstantin S. Kiprijanov
  • Prof. Dr. Silke Bartsch
  • Nadine Battista
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Möller
  • Dr. Sina Arnold
  • Prof. Dr. Birgit Kleinschmit
  • Prof. Dr. Axel Gelfert
  • Dr.-Ing. Martin Steiof
  • Bettina Liedtke
  • Johanna Moser
  • Dr. Arda Karasu
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Heiland
  • Prof. Dr. Manfred Hauswirth
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Rackwitz
  • Friederike Demmel
  • Sophie Klemm
  • Erika Alves Alcântara
  • Friederike Gerstl
  • Maria Lück
  • Ulrike Christine Künkel
  • MSc. Shajia Afrin Ali
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Bardenhagen
  • Tamara Indira Reyes Ojopi
  • Prof. Dr. Hans-Liudger Dienel
  • Prof. Dr. Ronald Plath
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Rötting
  • Dr.-Ing. Bärbel Zeise
  • Patricia Stawicki
  • Till Kastendieck
  • Patrick Schubert
  • PD Dr. Sascha Jung
  • Dr.-Ing. Mathias Hofmann
  • Thiemo Laß
  • Veronique Riedel
  • Lena Saenger
  • Prof. Dr. Peter Hildebrandt
  • Michaela Müller-Klang
  • Frank Becker
  • Doreen Gropmann
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. (habil.) Felix Ziegler
  • Romina Becker
  • Lisa Fischer
  • Elias Grünewald
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Claudia Fleck
  • Prof. Dr. Kirsten Lehmkuhl
  • Prof. Dr. Stefanie Marker
  • Iram
  • Prof. Dr. Karola Bastini
  • Prof. Dr. Beate Krickel
  • Dr. Anja Lotz
  • Dr. Ulrike Gaebel
  • Roland Hauschulz
  • Dipl.-Ing. Roland Kühn
  • Prof. Dr. Christina Völlmecke
  • Andre Klunker
  • Elias Aguigah
  • Tobias Kaiser
  • Prof. Dr. Etienne Emmrich
  • Prof. Dr. Johannes Meyser
  • Nina Fraeser
  • Andreas Gobbin
  • Katrin M. Kämpf
  • Jella Hauß
  • Patricia Szendro Terán
  • Juliane Wistuba
  • Dr.-Ing. Gesine Götz
  • Felix Paschel
  • Tobias Breiten
  • Grietje Zimmermann
  • Jerusha Klein
  • Dr. Josefa Kny
  • Dr. Alexander Wedel
  • Dr. Winfried Meyer
  • Jakob von Saldern
  • Annika Scheunemann
  • Prof. Claus Steffan
  • Dr. Deniz Yonucu
  • Prof. Dr. Melanie Jaeger-Erben
  • Antje Bahnik
  • Dr. phil. Dr. rer. med. Peter Ullrich
  • Majid Asli
  • Luca Frepoli
  • Marc Voigt
  • Dr. Marcus Funck
  • Bettina Klotz
  • Jonas Vuitton
  • Sebastian Willert
  • Max Schischkoff M.Sc.
  • Katja Kontschieder
  • Thilo Hanisch
  • Gudrun Krug
  • Horri Nebia Facela
  • Dipl.-Ing. Barbara Münch
  • Dr.-Ing. Wulf-Holger Arndt
  • Prof. Dr. Beate Krickel
  • Prof. Dr. Hanna Meißner
  • Dr. Aline Oloff
  • Lisa Fischer
  • Simon Kennerknecht
  • Tabea Hartig
  • Ina Haase
  • Yves Ruby
  • Christoph Moldrzyk
  • René Vonau
  • Oliver Thomaschewski
  • Helen Merenda
  • Christian Puls
  • Prof. Dr. Klaus Gramann
  • Dr. Anke Märten
  • Peter Bank
  • Marion Dennert
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Olaf Hellwich
  • Verena Rademacher
  • Jürgen Christof
  • Gabriele Schöttler
  • Christian Schröder
  • Dr. Simone Bartsch
  • Dr. Andrea Meyer
  • Dr. phil. Pat Treusch
  • Jens Wienekamp
  • Gesine Pawlowicz
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Peitsch
  • Dr. Dorothee Wimmer
  • Sara Schneider
  • Kathrin Bischoff
  • Dr.-Ing. Mario Eck
  • Irmela Roschmann-Steltenkamp
  • Prof. Dr. Anne Lequy
  • Jenny Sieg
  • Marcus Bleil
  • Ergin Tüzüner M.Sc.
  • Sven Nottrott
  • Moritz Reumschüssel
  • Jana Weidemüller
  • Uta Ben-Slimane
  • Priv.-Doz. Dr. Sören Müller
  • Dr. Emre Yeşilbaş
  • Monique Breymann
  • Carl-Roman Culemann
  • Nicola Gediehn
  • Victor Bicalho
  • Dr. Magdalena Beljan
  • Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Frauen- und Geschlechterforschungseinrichtungen Berliner Hochschulen (afg)
  • Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Sabine Kinzel
  • Farkhondeh Rouholahnejad
  • Katja Heinrich
  • Carl-Eric Linsler
  • Juliane Dittmann
  • Prof. Dr. Bettina Berendt
  • Prof. Dr. Torben Karges
  • Bertien Götsche-Pons
  • Sina Raddatz
  • Maren Telgmann
  • Annette Freifrau Hiller von Gaertringen
  • Dorothée Kerbe
  • Aenne Chalhoub
  • Marina Diesener
  • Dr. Gabriele Wendorf
  • Ipek Mertoglu
  • Dr. Stefanie Fischer
  • Sina Wachholz
  • Thomas Mientus
  • Stefan Damke
  • Dr. habil. Mathias Berek
  • Lisa Buchmann
  • Dr. Martin Aleksandrov
  • Ulrich Prehn
  • Suhail Abualjubain
  • Kathrin Block
  • Melanie Bartels
  • Ulrike Wittkowsky
  • Grit Tebner
  • Nele Beier
  • Maximilian Hoor
  • Dr. Simon Teune
  • Brigitte Rompf
  • Prof. Dr. Petra Lucht
  • Dr. Susanne zur Nieden
  • Dr. Mattis Neiling
  • Dipl.-Ing. Volker Ihlow
  • Dr. Céline Barry
  • Sandra Hornoff
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Skutella
  • Eyke Vonderau
  • M. Sc. Karin Engelbert
  • Sabine Daguenet
  • Dr.-Ing. Roman Tschakert
  • Prof. Dr. Meike Hopp
  • Laura Caniglia
  • Claudia Groß
  • Ginaldo Galdino
  • Alexandra Barisic
  • Markus Fiebig
  • Taisija Cesar
  • Nesrine Ouanes
  • Monique Lee
  • Kristof Miertsch
  • Ines Schwarze
  • Nicole Schimko
  • Student initiative Fridays for Future at TU Berlin
  • Kerstin Goldau
  • Dr. Felix Kapp
  • Katrin Lindner
  • Anna Loffing
  • Györgyi Túróczy
  • Dagmar Hessberg
  • Fabian Deter
  • Martin Knaack
  • Lena Schildbach
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Lindenberger
  • Dr. Sahra Dornick
  • Professor Dr.-Ing. Kai Strunz
  • Theresa Adenstedt
  • Prof. Dr. Susann Fegter
  • Dr. Karen Geipel
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing Sibylle Dieckerhoff
  • Nadja Damm
  • Dr.-Ing. Thomas Meyer
  • Julia Döring
  • Claudia Cifire
  • Dominik Bührdel
  • Dr. Hans-Dieter Nägelke
  • Dorothea Jansen
  • Maja Aßmann
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Utz von Wagner
  • Jana Meier
  • Uta Kirchner
  • Gerald Weberling
  • Eva Díaz Gutiérrez
  • Prof. Dr. Bernward Dörner
  • Prof. Dr. Karola Rück-Braun
  • Studierendeninitiative Freitagsrunde
  • Heidi Jenke
  • Christian A. Hans
  • Prof. Dr. Heike Wiese
  • Prof. Dr. Radosveta Ivanova-Stenzel
  • Dipl.-Ing. Karim Saad
  • Marion Röwekamp
  • Prof. Dr. Britta Tietjen
  • Prof. Dr. Lisa Marie Warner
  • Prof. Dr. Claudia Harsch
  • Prof. Dr. Friederike Kern
  • Prof. Dr. Steffi Pohl
  • Prof. Dr. Janina Kneipp
  • Claudia Wiegand
  • Jun-Prof. Dr. Renata Campos Motta
  • Daniel Topalovic
  • Dr. Silke Sachse
  • Prof. Dr. Susan Draeger
  • Dr. Annika Nickenig
  • Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. Lydia Mechtenberg
  • Dr. Pia Spangenberger
  • Diana Reckien
  • Inka Bormann
  • Prof. Dr. Britta Schneider
  • Dr. Ursula Neu
  • Dr. Lumnije Jusufi
  • PD Dr. Agnieszka Pufelska
  • Fatma Cansu Yücel
  • Prof. Dr. Ina Kerner
  • Prof. Dr. Anja Carlsohn
  • Heike Wieland
  • Christina Wolff
  • Prof. Dr. habil. Katharina Hölzle
  • Prof. Dr. Natascha Naujok
  • Prof. Dr. Eugénia da Conceição-Heldt
  • Prof. Dr. Kathrin Leuze
  • Prof. Dr. Janina Maultzsch
  • Prof. Dr. Cornelia Ortlieb
  • Dr. Andrea Lenz
  • Dr. Ali Konyali
  • Dr. Stefanie Mathilde Frank
  • Sophie Belardi
  • Astrid Grützner
  • INPUTS Bremen
  • Prof. Dr. Kerstin Knopf
  • Alexander Margraf
  • Personalrat der Arbeitnehmer*innen und Beamt*innen der TU Berlin
  • Dr. Katrin Kaufmann-Kuchta
  • Claudia Meinert
  • Flávio Silvestre
  • Kai Loftfield
  • Prof Dr. Christiane Salge
  • Christel Rothfuß
  • Phillip Nagel
  • Mandy Kühne
  • Dr. med. vet. Andrea T. Feßler, PhD
  • Team Energieseminar, TU Berlin
  • Dr.-Ing. Sandra Huning
  • Tom Jarling
  • General Students’ Committee  (AStA)
  • Leonie Dornbusch
  • Dr. Kerrin v. Engelhardt
  • Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Volker Markl
  • Prof. Dr. Anja Bandau
  • Lukas Hoppe
  • Anna Schreiner

The list is updated continuously.

How to sign the statement

If you would like to sign the statement, please send an email stating your full name and the name of your institute, department or unit to pressestelle(at)tu-berlin.de with the subject line: Statement. Your details will then be published beneath the statement.

About Professor Dr. Maisha M. Auma

Maisha M. Auma is an educational scientist whose focus is on diversity, critical race theory, decolonization and intersectionality. Since 2008, she has been professor for childhood and difference (diversity studies) at the Stendal campus of Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. During this period, she was also visiting professor for gender/diversity studies and educational sciences at the Center for Transdisciplinary Gender Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.  She is currently (summer semester 2020 and winter semester 2020/2021) visiting professor for interdisciplinary women’s and gender studies at the Center for Interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies at Technische Universität Berlin. She has been actively involved with ADEFRA e.V. Schwarze Frauen in Deutschland since 1993 and together with her team provides expert support for the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) on behalf of the Berlin Senate.