Tag: colonial

In DR Congo, King Leopold’s statue stoic as protests rage elsewhere

by Samir TOUNSI Agence France-Presse KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — Overlooking Kinshasa from the seclusion of a presidential garden, the statue of Belgian King Leopold II stares over the Congo River far from the protests and rage targetting colonial figures elsewhere. The monument to the Belgian monarch, who made the Congo his personal fiefdom, stands next to his successor, Albert I, and a statue of British explorer Henry Stanley who founded the city that would become […]

French city adds info plaques to slave trader street names

BORDEAUX, France (AFP) — As statues of slave traders and colonial figures tumble worldwide in a wave of anger against racism, Bordeaux wants to inform the public with a different tactic. Streets named after slave traders in the southwestern French city, known for its red wine but also one with a colonial past, are getting additional information plaques put up but will not be renamed, a local official said. Protesters against police brutality and racism […]