Symbols of colonization in Senegal: debate on the names of the Plateau streets in Dakar

View of the Plateau district in downtown Dakar, Senegal. Initsogan / Wikimedia

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The debate over the symbols associated with colonization and slavery was revived in many countries of the world after the death of George Floyd, an African-American citizen killed by a white police officer in the United States. In Senegal, a former French colony, the street names inherited from colonization. In Dakar, the mayor of the commune of Plateau, which shelters the city center, proposes to launch a reflection on the question.

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With our correspondent in Dakar , Charlotte Idrac

Right in the city center of Dakar, avenue Faidherbe is located not far from rue Parchappe, lieutenant of French vessel, or even rue Dagorne, captain of frigate. Several streets have already changed their name since the presidency of Léopold Sédar Senghor. But sixty years after the independence of Senegal, the mayor of the commune of Plateau, and also Minister of Fisheries, Alioune Ndoye, wants to propose to the municipal council the establishment of a commission, to think about changing the names of avenues, streets and public squares.

The commission could include historians, sociologists, town planners or artists, he said on his Facebook page. He is already calling on his constituents to speak on the subject.

The debate is not new. On the island of Gorée, classified world heritage of humanity, off Dakar, the mayor Augustin Senghor indicates that 90% of the streets bear the names of former settlers. The option of a name change had already been studied by city council in the past. But for the mayor, Gorée must remain "  intact  ", as a heritage, with its streets, so as not to erase history, so as not to forget. After the death of George Floyd , the municipal council now plans to dedicate a street or a place on the island "  to the ideal of freedom and racial equality  ".

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  • Senegal
  • France
  • History
  • Racism

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