- Source: Tayo Awosusi-Onutor
Tayo Awosusi-Onutor, also known as Tayo Awosusi (born 8 March 1978 in Karlsruhe, Germany), is a German musician, writer, filmmaker and human rights activist. As singer-songwriter, she performs her music in English, German and Romani. As public speaker, she is also politically active in various German communities of colour.
Biography
= Background
=Awosusi-Onutor refers to herself as Afro-Sintezza of German-Nigerian origin. Her mother is the German Sintezza and civil rights activist Anita Awosusi, an activist for the rights of Sinti and Roma who has published various works about the history and persecution of their ethnic group. Her Nigerian-born father Hope Awosusi performed as a soul and funk musician. The name Tayo comes from the Nigerian language Yoruba and means "Child of Joy." Having grown up with three native languages, she speaks German, English and Romanes.
Awosusi-Onutor grew up in Karlsruhe, where she graduated from secondary school in 1997. After studying German and English literature as well as Multimedia studies at the Universities of Heidelberg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, she moved to Berlin in 2004 and has since dedicated herself to her career as musician, writer and activist.
Since then, she has performed as singer-songwriter with various musicians, including Romani guitarist Ferenc Snétberger. Among other performances, she participated in the 2014 Black Bazar Berlin.
= Activism for human rights and diversity
=Awosusi-Onutor has particitpated in public discussions and conferences on racism against Sinti and Romani people in German society. Further, she has been a member of the RomaniPhen and IniRromnja NGO's, documenting and explaining Romani women's history and persecution.
In 2017 she released her documentary film Phral mende - Wir über uns with members of the German Sinti community that premiered at the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
In 2021, Awosusi-Onutor published her first children’s book Jokesi Club. Jekh, Dui, Drin – 3 girlfriends in Berlin, featuring Romani children. Further, she wrote the definition of Romani and Sinti people for the 2023 dictionary Vielfalt.Das andere Wörterbuch. (English: Diversity. The other dictionary). This dictionary by the renowned Duden publishers explains 100 words relating to diversity in contemporary German society.
Selected publications
"Wir haben gelernt, angenommen zu sein" - Essay on identity and discrimination, at Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2018
Kek Ducho - Eine Schwarze Romani Perspektive auf Rassismus und Erinnerungskultur " - Essay German Culture of Remembrance and Racism at Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2020
Jokesi Club - Jekh, Dui, Drin. Drei Freundinnen in Berlin (in German). Berlin: Tayo Onutor. 2021. ISBN 978-3-00-068105-9.
Chapter on „Rom*nja und Sinti*zzi“. In: Vielfalt. Das andere Wörterbuch. 100 Menschen. 100 Beiträge. 100 Wörter. Bibliographisches Institut, Berlin 2023, ISBN 3411756012.
References
External links
Official webpage
Romani Chaji: how we want to be called, video in German with English subtitles, on YouTube
