German president urges more self-criticism on racism

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s president is urging his compatriots to be more self-critical and active in combating racism. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier argued Tuesday that it makes no sense to lament the death of George Floyd at the hands of a U.S. police officer but ignore racism at home. Germany’s official anti-discrimination watchdog said last week that it received 1,176 complaints about racism in 2019, an increase of 10% from the previous year. They made up about a third of all complaints received by the agency. There have been several sizeable anti-racism protests in Germany in the wake of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25.