Wrangelkiez!

If you’re anything like me, you were probably dreaming deeply on Wednesday morning when the sound of something making a racket roused you from your sleep.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the blasting of a car horn from an angry motorist. No, that noise was a trumpet, and it was soon joined by shouts of people protesting.

This group then slowly made its way to Wrangelstraße, setting up camp between Cuvrystraße and Falkensteinstraße. The purpose of the cacophony? The United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

This day has been recognized every March 21st since 1966. It was developed as a response to an incident in 1960, when police in Sharpeville, South Africa, killed 69 people and injured another 180 who were demonstrating against apartheid.

The hoards of protesters and shopkeepers here in Wrangelkiez lined the street for the 11:55 a.m. protest, shouting out chants (“5 vor 12″) waving at passer-bys who honked their horns, and handing out black ballons with the words “Berlin gegen Rassismus” plastered across them in yellow writing. Elsewhere in Berlin, similar demonstrations occurred, with anti-fascist and anti-racist individuals all making a show of solidarity.