03/26- The Empty Grave: Screening and Discussion

March 18, 2026 Amanda Rajnauth

The Empty Grave: Screening and Discussion
Thursday, March 26 | 5:00PM-7:30 PM
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, NYC
Proshansky Auditorium (concourse level)

Register Here

The documentary The Empty Grave (Germany/Tanzania 2024) follows the emotional journey of two Tanzanian families in search of their stolen ancestors. Their quest leads one family to Germany where tens of thousands of human remains from former colonies are stored in museum depots – a haunting legacy of colonial plunder in the early 20th century, taken for racist research and as macabre trophies. The other family locates their ancestor in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York.

The film unveils the enduring traces and traumas inflicted by colonial crimes on families and highlights their resilience while probing the complexity of identifying and repatriating these human remains.

Konradin Kunze, an artist and researcher who worked with the Kaaya family, will be present to discuss the challenges of repatriation, and will deliver remarks on behalf of the family. ntroduction by Marta Millar (CUNY), moderated by Jonathan Bach (New School).

Admission is free. Non-CUNY participants will need to show a government-issued ID to enter the Graduate Center.

This event is co-organized by the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and the African Studies Initiative and Global Studies Program at The New School.

Link to register: https://forms.gle/V8S9cTfgArudazff8