“My arrival was quietly, anxiously celebrated within my mothers family but the rest of society had long since made up its mind to exclude my mother and me from its fold.”Ika Huegel-Marshall, from Invisible Woman

A noted German author will recount her experiences as a black woman in her homeland at 3 p.m. Friday, March 8, in the Mountainlair Rhododendron Room.

Ika Huegel-Marshall will read from her autobiography, Invisible Woman: Growing Up Black in Germany, as part of Womens History Month activities at West Virginia University. Her appearance at WVU also coincides with International Womens Day.

“Ms. Huegel-Marshalls story, which offers insight into the unique experience of growing up black in postwar Germany, also contains elements common to the lives of many members of minority groups around the world, including African-American women,”said Deborah Janson, associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages, which is co-sponsoring the event.

“As such, her message should be of interest to all citizens concerned about racial and gender inequities,”she said.”It exposes not only the harmful effects of social prejudice but also the ignorance of racial categorizations that often accompanies white privilege. In light of the broad applicability of Ika Huegel-Marshalls experiences, her presentation is a perfect fit for International Womens Day.”

Huegel-Marshall was born in 1947 to a white German mother and an African-American father stationed in Germany with the U.S. military. She lived with her mother until she was 6, then spent the next nine years in a childrens home, as did many Afro-German children of her generation. After finishing school, she studied social pedagogy and then worked with children and young people.

At 39, she met other Afro-Germans and became involved in establishing the Initiative of Black Germans. This organization began the politicization of blacks as Germans with unique experiences, an awareness that led Huegel-Marshall and other black Germans to explore their African and African-American roots. Huegel-Marshall located her father and his family in Chicago in 1993.

In addition to her autobiography, Huegel-Marshall has written many articles on anti-racist education and psychology and co-edited a book on similar topics. Since 1990, she has worked as a public relations agent for the Orlando Publishinghouse. She has also taught courses on topics such as anti-racist consciousness-raising and intercultural social work at Berlin universities.

Following the reading, Huegel-Marshall will answer questions and sign copies of her book.

Other co-sponsors of the event are the Center for Black Culture and Research, Department of English, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and Center for Womens Studies.