Ethnic origin, migration, and racism are all issues that are closely intertwined in Germany. “Race” and “ethnicity” are not intrinsic human traits, but social constructs, which means that they are not fixed biological categories. They are concepts we have come to accept and which certainly have significant societal implications.

The United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines racial discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, or any other field of public life.”

The term “racism” is used to refer to discrimination against groups of people who have been “racialized” (those who are ascribed specific traits to differentiate them from the “white” majority or mainstream society), while also referring to their supposed biological differences and notions of shared origin, appearance, characteristics, and culture. For example, antisemitism and antiziganism are directed against people and institutions who are perceived as Jewish or Roma/Sinti. While this type of discrimination differs from anti-Black racism in the specific images, assumptions, and actions involved, all three of these variants of racism typically have their origins in racialization.

While discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin, racist, or antisemitic assumptions can take the form of exclusion, exoticization, degrading treatment, insults, or other verbal, physical, or psychological violence on the individual or interpersonal level, it tends to manifest itself on the institutional level as actions that are carried out by an organization, for example by means of its regulations, practices, and organizational culture. On the structural level, this happens through the production of knowledge, ideas, images, and perceptions that become entrenched over time and result in social inequality.

A number of studies such as the Afrozensus 2020 have shown that people of color, Black people, Muslims, Sinti and Roma, Jews, people from a migrant background, or refugees continue to frequently experience racial discrimination despite legislation against it. Unfortunately, institutions of higher education like universities are not immune to racism and discrimination.