Mohrenstraße in Berlin: the court dismisses the lawsuit – the street is renamed

Created: 08/18/2022, 13:51

By: Moritz Serif

The word Mohr comes from the colonial era (archive image).

© Gerald Matzka/dpa/picture alliance

One man was bothered that Mohrenstrasse in Berlin would soon no longer be called that.

The court ruled that he had no standing to sue.

Berlin – Only residents could object to the renaming of a street.

With this reasoning, the administrative court in Berlin dismissed the lawsuit brought by a man who was incensed that Mohrenstraße would be given a different name in the future.

According to the announcement, the court ruled that the plaintiff, who comes from the Lichtenberg district, lacks the right to sue.

(VG 1 K 88/22).

Mohrenstraße is in Berlin-Mitte, in another district of the capital.

Street renaming would only be subject to judicial control if there was a violation of the arbitrary prohibition or a violation of constitutionally protected rights.

In this respect, such an infringement can only be asserted by local residents.

The plaintiff wanted to prevent Mohrenstrasse from being renamed

According to the court, in June last year the plaintiff appealed against the decision of the Mitte district office to rename the street Anton-Wilhelm-Amo Straße.

The district office rejected the objection and charged a fee of 148.27 euros, which the court found lawful.

The plaintiff can appeal against the judgment at the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg

Because of its name, Mohrenstraße should already be renamed on October 1, 2021.

Anton-Wilhelm-Amo was the first known philosopher of African descent in Germany in the 18th century.

The scientist taught at the Universities of Wittenberg, Halle and Jena.

Due to numerous objections filed, the renaming has not yet come into force.

The word "Mohr" comes from the colonial era

About a year ago, a student had called for the “M” term from the colonial era to be reworked.

"In German-speaking countries, the M-word has been used for centuries to describe black people who were abducted and enslaved by white people during the colonial period.

If you, like me, as a black man, walk past a pharmacy like this every day, it hurts," said Jamal Coulibaly at the time.

The word Mohr originally comes from the Greek and means "mauros" for "black", or in Latin "maurus" (German black, dark) and was used during the time of German colonization in Africa for enslaved and abducted people.

(mse/epd)