Germany gets first ever Black members of parliament
DiabY By Your Black World
Two men with roots in Senegal have become the first Black lawmakers in Germany’s history.
“My election into the German Parliament is of historical importance,” said chemist Karamba Diaby, who has been in Germany since he came to Germany to study in 1986.
There are 500,000 Germans of African descent in the country, but up until now none had been elected to the federal legislature.
“I’m in!” 51 year old Diaby tweeted under his handle @KarambaDiaby after receiving the good news. “Thank you for your trust,” he posted on Face-book.
“It is a good feeling,” Diaby said after it was all over.
He added: “I am looking forward to having the chance to shape policy in the Bundestag.”
Diaby is set to focus on the minimum wage and social justice in the country.
“If I can contribute to raising awareness to create more opportunities for people with foreign roots then that is good,” he said.
Charles Huber, who also has Senegalese roots, is headed to parliament as well.
Huber, 56, is an actor and will represent the southwestern city of Darmstadt.
“Dear friends. I AM IN THE BUNDESTAG,” Huber tweeted. He is best known for his role in the television show “The Old Fox”, which ran from 1986-1997.
The first African-American members of the U.S. Congress were Black Republicans elected in the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War. The first African American elected to the U.S. Senate was Hiram Rhodes Revels, who in 1869 filled a seat vacated by Confederate President Jefferson Davis.