May Ayim (3 May 1960 in Hamburg — 9 August 1996 in Berlin) original name Sylvia Opitz was an Afro-German poet, educator, and activist.
She studied Psychology and Education and wrote the book Showing Our Colors, Afro-German Women Speak Out.
At this time she also co-founded the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (Initiative of Black People in Germany).
After spending sometime without sleep or proper meals preparing for Black History Month in 1996, she suffered a mental and physical collapse.
She was 36 when she met her death after jumping from the thirteenth floor of a Berlin building.