4 . March for the removal of the “ Negro de Banyoles ” from the Darder Museum in Banyoles , Girona
Name of the initiative
Year Participants Status
March for the removal of the “ Negro de Banyoles ” from the Darder Museum in Banyoles , Girona
1996
Alphonse Arcelín Black Panther Party
Description
The Haitian doctor and PSC-PSOE councillor Alphonse Arcelín called for a march on World Day Against Racism in 1996 to demand the removal of the “ Negro de Banyoles ” ( or “ Banyoles Bushman ”) from the Darder Museum in Banyoles , Girona ( Catalonia ). The so-called “ Negro de Banyoles ” was the stuffed body of a supposed Bushman warrior that was dug up , stuffed and sent to Paris in 1830 by the taxidermist brothers Jules and Édouard Verreaux . The remains circulated and were exhibited in France until they were acquired in 1886 by the taxidermist and veterinarian Francesc Darder , the first director of Barcelona Zoo and founder of the Darder Museum . In 1916 Darder exhibited “ El Negro ” in the museum ’ s Hall of Men , where it remained until the day of its repatriation in 2007 .
Although the case is widely known , the process that Arcelín , who was behind the movement for the repatriation of the “ Negro de Banyoles ”, led to make the expatriation of the body possible is not so well-known , nor are the implications of the demand in the Catalan context of the time . Among the poorly documented aspects is the mobilisation that took place on 19 March 1996 . As Abuy Nfubea -Pan-African activist and writer- recounts in an article published in El Salto ( 2020 ), the socialist councillor called this mobilisation four years after the Barcelona Olympic Games , after the Spanish government reneged on its promises to return the “ Negro de Banyoles ” to his place of origin .
In an atmosphere of repression in the face of increasing cases of racist violence in Spain , the protests were marked by attacks from the population opposed to the initiative to return the Bushman . For the same reason , the participation of activists and groups of people of African descent was scarce , but they had the support of “ associations from Gambia , Mali , Sos Afrika , Latin American associations , Peruvian activists against the 5th Centenary , the magazine Tam- Tam and some trade unionists such as Obam Miló ” ( Nfubea , El Salto , 2020 ). The protest ended at the Darder Museum with the reading of a statement . Despite the significance of the campaign promoted by Arcelín and his fundamental role in the struggle of the black movement in Spain , he was sentenced to bear the legal costs of the case . He was forced to flee and died in Cuba in 2009 .
Links and sources
Ros , E . ( 1992 ). El COI reclama que se retire el negro disecado del Museo de Banyoles , El País . Available at : https :// elpais . com / diario / 1992 / 05 / 05 / espana / 705016813 _ 850215 . html Nfubea , A . ( 2020 ). Arcelin , los Panteras y la plaza de la reparación negra , El Salto . Available at : https :// www . elsaltodiario . com / racismo / arcelin-los-panteras-y-la-plaza-de-la-reparacion- negra- Westermann , F . ( 2007 ) El negro y yo . Océano .
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