Zimbabwe's Dangarembga receives German peace prize

Zimbabwean writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga has accepted a prestigious German prize in honor of her work in Frankfurt

VIENNA -- Accepting a prestigious German prize Sunday in honor of her work, Zimbabwean writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga called for a “new Enlightenment,” saying a fundamental shift is needed to overcome the structures of racial hierarchy that have led to violence in her home country and across the world.

“What we can look to is to change our thought patterns word by word, consciously and consistently over time and to persevere until results are seen in the way we do things and in the outcomes of our actions,” she said.” she said Sunday at St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt.

Dangarembga is the first Black woman to win the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, which is endowed with 25,000 euros ($29,100) and has been awarded since 1950.

In her remarks, Dangarembga spoke about Zimbabwe's colonial past and the various forms of violence white colonialists inflicted on its Black inhabitants in the 19th and 20th centuries. That violence continued when Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, she added.