German zoo renames monkey, admits “Obama” insensitive
A German zoo changed the name of one of its monkeys Friday from! ‘Obama’ to ‘Okeke’ after a black group warned the original name implied a racial slur.
The newborn mandrill was named Obama this March, in honour, zookeepers said, of US President Barack Obama.
A Dresden Zoo spokesman said the new name took effect Friday and confirmed a report in an English-language website, The Local. Obama visited Dresden last month.
Tahir Della of the Initiative for Black Germans (ISD) was quoted saying, ‘Black people continue to be confronted by associations with the animal kingdom and primitivity.’
