Speech about Donald and Fountainhead
by Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq

Ladies and gentlemen, friends of community and culture,

Today we gather to honor a man whose footsteps have echoed through this city for more than forty years – a man who built bridges where there were none, who carved out space for voices that too often went unheard. I’m speaking of Donald Griffith, and the remarkable organization he founded right here in Berlin: Fountainhead.

When Donald arrived in this city, Berlin was a place full of movement, tension, promise – but for Black people and for many from the Global South, it was also a place where visibility was thin and support was scarce. Donald looked at that landscape and didn’t just imagine something better; he rolled up his sleeves and built it. Fountainhead became a haven, a forum, a heartbeat – a place where social and political issues were not just discussed, but lived through, argued over, uplifted, and reshaped.

For decades, Donald created a platform that connected the struggles of Black communities in Berlin with the wider political winds blowing from America and across the world. He understood that what happens across the ocean reverberates here – that the civil rights cries, the debates, the victories and setbacks of one people resonate in the lives of many others. Fountainhead became the space where those echoes were named, interpreted, and transformed into action.

And he didn’t stop at conversation. For years, Donald hosted a weekly community TV show – a gathering place glowing behind the screen – where panel discussions sat side-by-side with vibrant performances by local dancers, singers, jazz ensembles, and artists whose hands shaped beauty from paint, clay, and stone. Through that show, Donald created a living archive of creativity and thought, a stage for Berlin’s hidden brilliance.

He brought international political leaders into our living rooms, giving the community direct access to voices shaping global conversations. And he welcomed musicians from all corners of the world, letting their sound speak truth where words sometimes faltered. Through Fountainhead, Berlin became a crossroads – a place where culture and politics braided themselves into something enduring.

And let us never forget: he was the first – the first – to bring Black History Month to Germany. At a time when that celebration wasn’t even a whisper here, Donald made it visible. He planted it in Berlin’s cultural soil and helped it grow into a tradition that continues to educate, uplift, and inspire.

For over four decades, Donald Griffith has been a steady flame – a guiding force for community, for artistry, for justice, for the rich mosaic of Black life in Berlin and for all people striving to be seen. His work has rippled through generations, and those ripples are still moving us forward.

So today, we honor not just a man, but a legacy – a legacy of courage, creativity, and connection. May the spirit of Fountainhead continue to rise, to flow, and to nourish this city, just as Donald has done for so many years.

Thank you.