“We do not allow ourselves to be accused of racism, nor do we let ourselves be taken by people with xenophobic attitudes.” This is the clear message from the Huber family, who owns the Mohrenbräu brewery. She published this in an open letter, which can be found on the brewery’s website and social media channels. The letter explains why the brewery’s social media accounts were shut down for the time being: representatives of both sides of the political spectrum had made statements in the discussion about the name and logo of the brewery that did not correspond to the company’s values at all.
The brewery’s coat of arms, which shows the black silhouette of a head with plump lips and frizzy hair, has been criticized many times. In the “Black Lives Matter” debate, this has now flared up again. The Huber family explains their origin in their position name: the beer got its name from Alfred Mohr, who opened the restaurant “Zum Mohren” in 1784 with an attached brewery. He used the family crest, which shows a black person. The exaggerated representation comes from that time and thus a different way of dealing with People of Color, but had no racist background.
Open-ended considerations
Mohrenbräu fears that the company will be renamed and reorganized and that this will lead to a loss of recognition value and thus a loss of revenue. Therefore, the situation should now be reassessed in peace. “Together with independent experts from a wide range of areas, we will be able to review in the next few months whether and how we can further develop our brand presence within the scope of our possibilities. The result of this process is open.”
Those: Open letter from the Huber family
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