On the afternoon of Friday, April 13, 2018, American Academy president Michael P. Steinberg visited the Katholisches Schulzentrum Edith Stein, a Catholic school run by the Erzbistum Berlin. Steinberg spoke to high-school students about race and race relations in the United States, including the history of US slavery and segregation, pitched to German students presently studying the topic and who are preparing to take their Abitur exams. The subsequent discussion led to questions of contemporary importance: What are the most pressing topics in race relations in America today? Why are these issues so present in American discourse now? How have the spate of recent police shootings of black Americans—resulting in the Black Lives Matter movement—affected discussions of race in the US? The event was organized by English teacher Francine Jobatey and attended, too, by headmaster Matthias Rösch.