Getting it wrong on race

Last week, Mbutu Mondondo Bienvenu, a political science student studying in Brussels launched a legal case to ban Herge's 1930 comic-book Tintin in the Congo in Belgium. The book, Bienvenu claims, is 'propaganda for colonialism', adding, 'Belgian school children should not be exposed to this kind of racist commentary'. The case is now being investigated by the Brussels state prosecutor.

This follows a complaint from a member of the public in the UK, which prompted the Commission for Racial Equality to issue a statement calling for the book's removal from the nation's bookstores. The book, the CRE alleged, contains 'hideous racial prejudice, where the 'savage natives' look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles'.

None of the points made by the CRE in its statement are wrong, or even contestable, other than the conclusion that they managed to reach. Herge's depiction of the Congolese is entirely of its time. Their visual representation is sub-human, with outsized mouths and lips and a very limited grasp of English. They are people fit only to be bossed by the superior white European, a contemporary view which had precipitated one of the worst colonial occupations. There is no doubt book is every bit as racist and offensive as the commission describes.

What the CRE has failed to see is that while at the time of publication the book simply peddled public opinion, now, it has become a valuable (if embarrassing) relic of Europe's political past. To deny contemporary children in the UK, Belgium or the Congos the chance to read and learn about their heritage, however uncomfortable, is a mistake. This book offers an accessible route for young people into one of the most important and complicated political movements of the last century. For children to read the book unsupervised is unwise, but when the latest UK edition is prefaced with an introduction putting the book into context, it becomes an undoubted educational tool.

Cracking racism is a matter of continued education, starting in childhood. Children not only need to be told by rote that racism is bad, but shown why, so that when in the future they are faced with the decision of whether or not to treat others equally, they do so through choice, not unquestioning repetition. By calling for censorship, the CRE have taken a stand against this wisdom. Its myopic view also demands the question of where to stop. Conrad, Waugh and Connolly all explored Africa at the beginning of the 20th century and each has written work that fits our modern definition of racism. Should they be for the chop too? Hardly.

The most interesting aspect of the case is the unexpected consequences of the CRE's statement. The press picked up the story and public interest was piqued. The book rocketed up the Amazon bestseller charts, creating a vastly bigger audience ready to learn about African political history and the mistakes of the last century. Despite its wrong-headed approach, the CRE may have inadvertently, taken a step towards racial equality and understanding.