A central Berlin street has been officially renamed Anton Wilhelm Amo Street, and the Mohrenstrasse metro station will take the same new name on Saturday. The date coincides with the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade. The local Mitte council first announced the change in 2020 after years of debate over the outdated and offensive name Mohrenstrasse ('Moors' Street'). Decolonize Berlin and other civil society groups have campaigned for more than 30 years and are organising celebrations. The current name's origins are unclear, dating to the early 18th century and possibly referring to former slaves or a visiting African diplomatic delegation. Local residents mounted legal challenges that briefly threatened the renaming, but a higher court overturned a last-minute injunction and allowed the change. Anton Wilhelm Amo was born around 1700 in what is now Ghana, likely sold into slavery in childhood, later educated in Europe and became the first black philosopher known to have taught at a German university.
A central Berlin street is being officially renamed on Saturday for an 18th-century African philosopher after years of debate over its current name, Mohrenstrasse ("Moors' Street"), viewed as outdated and offensive.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 metro station will also take the new name on Saturday, a date chosen to coincide with the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade. "It's a great success for civil society, which has been pushing for a name change for more than 30 years," said Tahir Della, from the group Decolonize Berlin, which is organising celebrations to mark the name change.
The origins of the current name are unclear. It dates back to the early 18th century, the height of the Atlantic slave trade, and some have suggested it may refer to former slaves who settled there. Another theory is that it refers to a visiting African diplomatic delegation. Whatever its precise origins, 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 renaming. A last-minute court decision on Friday briefly threatened to derail the process, even after workers had already begun switching the street signs. However, a higher court overturned the decision hours later, allowing the renaming to go ahead.
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