{"id":41745,"date":"2024-11-28T12:06:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T11:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/?p=41745"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T10:01:10","slug":"mstrasse-in-berlin-a-fight-for-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/2024\/11\/mstrasse-in-berlin-a-fight-for-change\/","title":{"rendered":"M****stra\u00dfe in Berlin: A Fight for Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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M****stra\u00dfe in Berlin: A Fight for Change<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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M****stra\u00dfe in Berlin has been at the center of African-led initiatives fighting for its renaming for decades. Recently, there was a significant breakthrough: the city officially accepted the proposal to rename the street <\/span>Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Stra\u00dfe<\/b>, and celebrations erupted as the new name was unveiled.<\/span><\/p>

But what's the reality on the ground?<\/span><\/p>

Nothing. Nothing has happened. Residents have been filing petitions against the renaming, causing the process to be put on hold.<\/span><\/p>

So why are these initiatives fighting so hard to change the street name in the first place?<\/span><\/p>

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The Origins of the M-Word<\/b><\/h3>

The M-word comes from the Middle High German word \"m\u00fcrre,\" which originally meant \"dark-skinned\" or \"Moorish\" and was used in the 17th century. Historically, \"Moor\" referred to people from North Africa, who were predominantly Muslim and had dark skin.<\/span><\/p>

During slavery, Europeans and German settlers deported Africans to Germany, enslaving them and calling them by the M-word. These individuals were reduced to servitude and referred to as \"Hofmohren,\" often dressed in military costumes and assigned roles like guarding palaces or institutional buildings.<\/span><\/p>

One such figure was <\/span>Anton Wilhelm Amo<\/b>who was brought to Berlin and forced to work as a Hofmohr. Due to his \"good behavior,\" he was granted special rights, which allowed him to pursue an education. Amo eventually became a prominent African philosopher, studying at the University of Halle and becoming one of the first Africans to earn a doctorate in philosophy at a European university.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why Renaming Matters<\/b><\/h3>

Renaming M****stra\u00dfe after Anton Wilhelm Amo acknowledges his contributions to philosophy and his unique place in German history. It is also a step toward dismantling systemic racism. The M-word and similar racially biased names are relics of a dehumanizing past, and removing them is a small but powerful gesture.<\/span><\/p>

Language shapes our perceptions of others, and symbolic changes like renaming streets can play a role in recognizing historical injustices while fostering a more inclusive society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Join our tours in the African Quarter, Humboldt Forum, and Black Queer Feminism that speaks on the importance of renaming and recognition of history.<\/span><\/p>

Until next time...<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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M****stra\u00dfe in Berlin has been at the center of African-led initiatives fighting for its renaming for decades. Recently, there was a significant breakthrough: the city officially accepted the proposal to rename the street Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Stra\u00dfe, and celebrations erupted as the new name was unveiled.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":86129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[357,334],"tags":[271,116,118],"class_list":["post-41745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazin","category-magazine","tag-activism","tag-kolonialismus","tag-projekte-gegen-rassismus"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41745"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86152,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41745\/revisions\/86152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dekolonialestadtfuehrung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}