May Ayim

May Ayim (1960–1996) was a Ghanaian-German poet, scholar, and political activist. She grew up in a foster family in North Rhine-Westphalia, studied psychology and education in Regensburg, and trained as a speech therapist in Berlin. From 1984, she worked there as a speech therapist, lecturer, and university student adviser. As co-author and co-editor of “Farbe Bekennen. Afro-deutsche Frauen auf den Spuren ihrer Geschichte” and “Entfernte Verbindungen,” and through her political poetry, she helped shape the Black German movement. In 1985, she was among the founders of the Initiative Schwarze Deutsche und Schwarze in Deutschland. Her publications include the poetry and essay collections “blues in schwarz weiss,” “nachtgesang,” and “Grenzenlos und unverschämt.”