Mohrenstrasse: Berlin metro to change ‘racist’ station name by end of year
The station has been renamed several times since it was opened over a century ago
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Berlin’s public transport company BVG said on Saturday that completing the renaming of a city centre metro station with a name based on a derogatory word for black people will take until the end of the year.
Mohrenstrasse metro station literally means Moor Street, using the medieval term for people from North Africa.
It will be renamed after another nearby street, Glinkastrasse, named after 19th-century Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka.
BVG said on Friday it would change the station name, amid a worldwide reckoning with buried legacies of racism and colonial crimes underpinning many western societies, sparked by the death in the United States of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a police officer.
The station lies a few hundred metres from the Brandenburg Gate at the very centre of Berlin, and has had a string of names since it was opened in 1908.
“We will change all network plans, signs at the stations and on buses. Everything must be changed on the subways,” said Rolf Erfurt, a BVG board member, in an interview with Reuters TV.
“We will have completed that by the end of the year,” he said.
Last month, unidentified activists taped over the station’s entrance, temporarily naming it “George Floyd Street”.
“I think it’s fantastic [to rename the station] because I think it is not on in the 21st century to name streets after racist insults against black people,” said Akwasi Osei-Dwomoh, a passer-by.
“I wish that not just the metro station, but also the street itself, will find a better name.”
Reuters
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments