As of: 03/23/2022 6:59 p.m
The climate activists canceled Ronja Maltzahn’s appearance at the climate protest on Friday in Hanover – because she wears dreadlocks. Now, according to the singer, there was a “nice” phone call.
The artist from Bad Pyrmont reported on her Instagram account on Wednesday in a so-called story video about the reactions to the announcement of the concert fee. She had previously announced the cancellation of “Fridays for Future Hannover”. As a result, there were many comments under the entry, many press people also called, and later the television would probably come by, so Maltzahn. She also says that she had a nice phone call with the activists from “Fridays for Future” “in which they apologized for the insensitive tone” in the written refusal. “At this point I would like to make it very clear that I do not want to start a conflict.” She keeps her fingers crossed that there won’t be “too much stupid press wind” for the actually great organization – and finally emphasizes that there are actually completely different important issues in society to deal with.
Is the rejection discriminatory?
The climate activists justified their rejection by saying that they “are relying on an anti-colonial and anti-racist narrative, especially in this global strike”. The letter goes on to say that white people should not wear dreadlocks “because they are assimilating a part of another culture without experiencing the systematic oppression behind it.” This decision was widely criticized on Maltzahn’s Instagram page, some commentators saw racist patterns and criticized the justification as discriminatory.
Ronja Maltzahn regrets the cancellation
Maltzahn himself regrets the cancellation. On her Instagram channel, she writes that she was looking forward to “being able to set a sign for peace and against discrimination with our music”. It is a pity to be excluded because of external characteristics. Maltzahn won the Udo Lindenberg Foundation’s Panic Prize for young artists last year. In July she will perform with Lindenberg at the Hermann Hesse Festival.
FFF admit appearance with cropped hair
Maltzahn could still appear during the climate strike on Friday – if she cuts her hair by then. Then “we would of course welcome you to the demo and let you play,” says the letter from “Fridays for Future”. The climate activists appeal to the artist to deal with the topic and offer her a conversation in the days after the demo. They also apologize for not having dealt in detail in advance with which artists they are asking for the demo. A request from NDR Lower Saxony on Wednesday to Fridays for Future Hannover as to whether they would stick with the cancellation and what they would say about the criticism has so far remained unanswered.