Racist Banner on E40 in Ghent Sparks Outrage

A meters-long banner reading “Alle bruine mannen naar achteren!” (“All brown men to the back!”) was discovered on a construction site along the E40 highway in Drongen, near Ghent, sparking widespread condemnation and reigniting a heated national debate over identity politics. The banner, which was clearly visible to motorists taking the Drongen exit toward Ghent, was removed by police on August 2 after being reported by diversity expert Khalid Benhaddou.

A Direct Inversion

The banner was a direct inversion of a statement made by Dutch protest artist Sophie Straat during her performance at the Gentse Feesten (Ghent Festival) on July 20. Straat, known for her feminist and anti-racist artistic vision, told the crowd: “Alle witte mannen naar achteren!” (“All white men to the back!”) before inviting women, queer people, and people of colour to come forward for a moshpit.

According to VRT NWS, the banner hung on a building under construction next to the bridge in Baarledorpstraat, near the Drongen exit. Benhaddou, who was alerted by a friend, said the banner had been hanging for several days before it was reported.

Outrage and Condemnation

Benhaddou, a Muslim theologian and diversity expert at Ghent University, was unequivocal in his condemnation. “This is simply racism. Period,” he said. “You don’t hang a meters-wide racist banner alone. Such a message doesn’t belong in our society and should be removed as quickly as possible.”

Speaking to NOS, Benhaddou warned about the dangers of identity politics. “Statements like ‘All white men to the back’ provoke this kind of backlash. That’s called identity politics. As soon as you start reducing people to their skin color or origin, you sooner or later provoke the same mechanism in the opposite direction.”

Acting Mayor Hafsa El-Bazioui (Groen) told HLN that she contacted the project developer immediately after seeing images of the banner. “They were shocked, because they were not yet aware. The banner was removed today,” she said. The developer will investigate who entered the idle construction site to hang the banner.

Police spokesperson Clio Van Peteghem confirmed that a patrol removed the banner on sight. “The patrol indeed saw the banner hanging there, and immediately removed it themselves,” she said.

The Original Controversy

Straat’s original statement at the Gentse Feesten was itself the subject of intense controversy. The artist first made the call at the Best Kept Secret festival in the Netherlands in June, where a video shared without context by Dutch music magazine 3voor12 triggered a wave of criticism and death threats against her.

“I have received a wave of sexist and antisemitic hate messages and (death) threats, each more explicit and creative than the last,” Straat wrote on Instagram. “Both online and in letter form, including reports and legal charges against me, but also against people I work with and against all venues and festivals where I play this summer.”

Legal Assessments

Belgium’s equal opportunities center Unia received approximately 200 complaints about Straat’s statement at the Gentse Feesten. After analysis, Unia concluded that the statement was not discrimination under Belgian anti-discrimination law, citing the context of an artistic performance with a social and political message and the broad protection of freedom of expression for artistic and political expressions under European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence.

“According to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, artistic and political expressions enjoy broad protection under freedom of expression, even when they provoke, shock, or offend,” Unia stated. The center noted there was no evidence that white men were actually excluded from the concert or activities.

The Dutch discrimination reporting center Discriminatie.nl reached a similar conclusion, noting that “the call only applied to one short, one-time moshpit for these groups. Visitors were not refused entry to the concert.”

On August 3, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) also ruled that Straat’s statements at Best Kept Secret were not punishable. The OM stated the statements should not be interpreted “as a command that all white men must leave because of negative characteristics of that group.”

A Broader Debate

Benhaddou, who had earlier criticized Straat’s statement as “ammunition for the far right,” has been a prominent voice in the debate. In an interview with VRT NWS, he argued that reducing people to their skin color or origin - regardless of who does it - is dangerous.

“Whoever truly believes in equality condemns this as sharply as any other racist slogan,” he said of the banner. “Universal principles apply to everyone, or they are not universal principles.”

The incident has highlighted the deep polarization surrounding identity politics in Belgium and the Netherlands. While Unia and the Dutch OM have both concluded that Straat’s artistic statement was not discriminatory, the banner in Ghent demonstrates how such rhetoric can be weaponized in the opposite direction.

What’s Next

The project developer will investigate who entered the construction site to hang the banner, and police have sent a patrol to the scene. The incident has also renewed calls for a more nuanced public debate about identity, race, and belonging - one that, as Benhaddou put it, does not reduce people to their skin color or origin.

“Today it affects one group, tomorrow another,” he warned. “You may never reduce people to their skin color or origin.”