A central Berlin Street is officially renamed on Saturday to an 18th century African philosopher of the year after year of debate about his current name, Mohrenstrasse (“Moors’ Street”), is considered outdated and offensive.
The Local Council of the Central Mitte District first announced in 2020 that it wanted to change the name of the street to Anton Wilhelm Amo Street, after the first black philosopher known to have taught at a German university.
The Mohrenstrasse -Metrost Station will also take the new name on Saturday, a date chosen to coincide with the International Day of the Remembrance of the Slave Trade.
“It is a great success for civil society that has been pushing for a name change for more than 30 years,” said Tahir della of the Decolonise Berlin group, who organizes the celebrations to mark the name change.
“It makes it clear why the previous name is so problematic for many black people in Germany,” he said.
The origin of the current name is unclear.
It dates back to the early 18th century, the height of the Atlantic slave trade, and some have suggested that it may refer to previous slaves that settled there.
Another theory is that it refers to a visitor African diplomatic delegation.
Whatever its exact origin, Della said the name is a “racist description for black people”.
However, local residents mounted legal challenges against the council to try to stop the renovation.
A court decision at the last minute briefly threatened to derail the process, even after the workers had already begun to change street signs.
However, a higher court overturned the decision hours later, which allowed the renovation to move on.
Born about 1700 in what is today Ghana, Anton Wilhelm Amo is assumed to be sold to slavery as a child and then brought to Europe.
Later, he had the opportunity to receive an education that took him to the prestigious universities of Wittenberg, Halle and Jena, and became an important figure in Germany’s information period.
Decolonise Berlin says the new name honor a symbol of “resistance, self -affirmation and knowledge in the African diaspora”.
Della said he hopes that the renovation will serve as a “driving force for further discussions in public spaces” and points to debates about other street names in Berlin that honor figures from Germany’s colonial past.
