There was a time when the only place where you could be sure to find a copy of “Tintin in the Congo” was on eBay. The second story in the internationally celebrated Belgian comic book series achieved minor cult status among young people for its flagrant display of racial stereotypes and colonial-era anachronisms. For decades, the comic was banned by libraries and bookstores across Europe and North America. In 2007, a French-Congolese accountant named Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo sought to have the book withdrawn from bookstores in Belgium. In 2009, he extended his case to bookstores in France, claiming a readiness to go to the European Court on Human Rights to obtain an all-out prohibition. Even at the Brooklyn Public Library (in a part of the world not directly implicated in the colonization of Africa), the book has been kept under lock and key since 2007, following a request by patrons and library employees.

Now, a high court in Belgium has decided against Mondondo, citing the lack of evidence that the book showed an intention to incite racial hatred, a crucial qualifier in the country’s laws on hate speech. While Mondondo says he will appeal a decision, it appeared as though the book’s publisher, Éditions Casterman, was offering an olive branch when it met with Louis-Georges Tin, president of the Representative Council of Black Associations (Le Conseil représentatif des associations noires de France, or CRAN), on Thursday.

While the meeting was cordial and polite, and the publishing company’s director, Louis Delas, described himself as “a sincere anti-racist,” Tin did not leave the meeting feeling soothed. Delas did not respond affirmatively to the suggestion that the French version, like the English version of the book, should include a brief note or preface explaining its historical context. Tin said Delas “couldn’t see why CRAN would be shocked by 'Tintin in the Congo.'” A statement from CRAN furthermore reported Delas being asked if he was “proud” to have the disputed book on the publishing houses's roster. “Without hesitating, he replied, ‘Yes.’”