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MEET WAYV RUN KOLLEKTIV, THE QPOC COLLECTIVE DISRUPTING BERLIN ON AND OFF THE TRACK

“While Berlin is one of the world capitals for gay freedom (and hedonism), Medina and Nguyen still found the city to be overwhelmingly white, even if it’s the most diverse city in Germany. At the time, there were no queer- or female of color-led running groups in the area — a glaring blindspot in the city’s running culture. “You have to imagine: Black and brown marginalized people, especially girls and women, in Germany — growing up here, nobody reaches out to us to do sports,” says Nguyen about her early years. And they weren’t going to wait around until someone asked them. Instead, they were the ones who did the asking. “We did it for our own survival,” says Nguyen, “because there was no other team looking like us and creating a safer space for us.” Read more here.

DIACRITICS

“When I had the opportunity to leave Germany, I took it. And not only once, but two, three, four and five times. I spent a total of five years in the U.S. There, starting fresh. There, seeing so many of us. Black and brown people. There, I was able and felt free enough to find my own voice. There, the pretense of the American dream, the visibility and representation of Black and brown people in any and all kinds of positions, a richness of stories, the widening of the cage as Ocean Vuong described it, that freedom, “I took it anyway, that widening. Because sometimes not seeing the bars is enough,” and I ran with it.” Read full article here.

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