Black German Cultural Society (BGCS)™ founded in 1999, established itself as the premiere organization serving as a resource, networking organization as well as a forum to facilitate awareness, discussions, and reflection of important issues that impact Black Germans, Post WWII Afro-Germans (known as Brown Babies and Mischlingskinder), and their descendants.

The Black German Cultural Society Inc (BGCS)™ was established by a group of African Americans and people of color of German descent, Black Germans from Chicago and Philadelphia, who immigrated to the United States either through adoption or of their own volition.

In December of 1999, BGCS was incorporated as a legal entity in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and became a federally recognized 501(c)3 charitable, non-profit organization. The group’s focus changed to include the development of cooperative partnerships with academic, humanitarian, diplomatic, cultural, and social organizations related to Black Germans of the African Diaspora.

BGCS expanded its mission to include the Afro-German Youth Exchange program. The program served to host Black German youth of African American descent from Germany to the United States to promote pride and self-respect of their dual heritage. Nine youths and four chaperons from Berlin, Germany, visited Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, and toured historical sites and cultural centers to learn about the contributions of African Americans and Germans to American society.

As the organization’s online listserv membership grew to include not only persons from the aforementioned groups but students, academicians, and historians, BGCS broadened the scope of communications and services by establishing Elternsuche, a second internet-based community. BGCS offered search, support, and resource services to German-born adoptees and their families.

Since then, BGCS, Inc. has helped to promote the inclusion of Black German literature and history in German Studies Programs and the participation of minority students in German Language Learning and International Exchange Programs.

After a decade of success and progressive expansion, the Black German Cultural Society has been recognized and honored with a commemoration by the City of Philadelphia. The organization has become not only a sociocultural entity that provides supportive services to its membership here in America but also an international historical and academic society committed to documenting, archiving pertinent information, and educating others about post-WWII Afro-German children as well as the Black German experience in Germany.