Abstract This article analyses the reactions of antiracist activists to public debates about memorials following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020. Based on 47 in-depth interviews with Norwegian antiracist activists, we examine three debates about memorials in two Norwegian cities. Theoretically, the concepts of connected histories and reflexive transnationalization inform our analysis, supplemented by a discussion of the relationship between European colonialism and the Nordic context. Our analysis suggests that Norwegian antiracists are ambivalent regarding these highly mediatized debates over memorials. While they believe that such debates are important in challenging portrayals of Norwegian history, they also fear that a focus on symbolic politics may damage antiracist efforts. We conclude by suggesting how an existing national self-understanding of innocence is challenged and better understood through an examination of the intersection between connected histories and existing national narratives.
Andersson et al. (Fri,) studied this question.