Before the official removal of the statue of Antonio López , different initiatives appeared , mainly from anti-racist movements , which also proposed a change in the name of the square . In June 2015 , the Pan-African Movement of Spain began to mobilise through social media for the square to be renamed plaça Dr . Alphonse Arcelín , a doctor of Haitian origin who drove the campaign to remove the stuffed man popularly known as “ el negro de Banyoles ” from the Darder Natural History Museum , being one of the first cases of restitution by the State . The proposal did not achieve its objective although , shortly afterwards , claims from other organisations appeared .
The proposal that finally succeeded came from Tanquem els CIE and Metromuster , which in 2017 had proposed changing the name of the plaça de Antonio López to plaça d ’ Idrissa Diallo . It was rejected in the City Council plenary session on 10 April 2018 , but it was subsequently approved as the result of a statement supported by 15,000 signatures and 33 different entities in the city and by its approval in the plenary session of the Ciutat Vella district on 15 July 2021 . The change took place on 25 March 2022 , and the square was divided into two parts : one called plaça de Correus and the other plaça d ’ Idrissa Diallo .
Dedicating the square to Idrissa Diallo ( 1991 - 2012 ) was a tribute to the young Guinean man who died on 6 January 2012 at the Immigration Detention Centre ( CIE ) in Zona Franca ( Barcelona ). In fact , it was precisely the death of the young man in 2012 , a victim of the immigration laws , which led to the creation of the collective Tanquem els CIE [ in English , Close the Immigration Detention Centres ]. This case of symbolic reparation has been one of the most relevant cases at a national level , not only because it is one of the only cases of removal of a symbol of colonialism and slavery , but also because of the renaming of the square “ to dignify the person of Idrissa Diallo , [...] and above all to dignify all those who , like Idrissa , suffer the structural violence of the unjust laws of migration control ”.
Links and sources
Demand of the Pan-African Movement for African and Afro-descendant Reparation in Europe . ( June 25 , 2015 ). https :// www . change . org / p / reclamem-a-l-ajuntament-de-barcelonaque-retiri-l-est % C3 % A0tua-i-el-nom-del-traficant-esclavista-i-genocida-antoniol % C3 % B3pez-i-que-sigui-renomenada-pla % C3 % A7a-del-dr-alphonse-arcelin-enhomenatge-al-doctor-panafricanista-i-activista-per-la-reparaci % C3 % B3-africana ? recruiter = 17428502 & utm _ source = share _ petition & utm _ medium = facebook & utm _ campaign = s hare _ facebook _ responsive & utm _ term = des-lg-share _ petition-no _ msg & fb _ ref = Defaultr Decidim Barcelona . First proposal rejected . ( April 10 , 2018 ). https :// www . decidim . barcelona / initiatives / i-7 ? locale = ca Statement for the change of name of the plaça Antonio López to Idrissa Diallo . All the associations linked to the demand appear . ( December 10 , 2018 ). https :// www . tanquemelscie . cat / 2018 / 12 / comunicat-pel-canvi-de-nom-de-la-placa . html Article in Béteve . “ El canvi de nom de la plaça d ’ Antonio López per Idrissa Diallo , més a prop ”. ( June 26 , 2021 ). https :// beteve . cat / societat / canvi-nom-placa-antonio-lopez-idrissa-diallomes-a-prop / Barcelona City Council . Change of nomenclature . https :// ajuntament . barcelona . cat / informecanvi-nom-carrer / ca / pla % C3 % A7a-de-correus https :// ajuntament . barcelona . cat / informecanvi-nom-carrer / ca / pla % C3 % A7a-d % E2 % 80 % 99idrissa-diallo Barcelona City Council . Informe Barcelona . ( March 25 , 2022 ) https :// www . barcelona . cat / infobarcelona / ca / la-placa-dantonio-lopez-canvia-de-nom-i-esdira-placa-didrissa-dialo _ 1157355 . html
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