Being Black in a Country That Embraces Blackface for the Holidays
/On the day of Nelson Mandela’s death, De Telegraaf, a popular Dutch news source, “jokingly” likened the deceased leader to the Netherlands' much-loved winter holiday character Zwarte Piet. So did prominent socialist politician John de Laet. If you’re not familiar with Zwarte Piet, allow me to give you a brief rundown: Each year, on December 5, Dutch families partake in the celebration of Sinterklaas. The holiday, which is a festive celebration for Saint Nicholas (a Santa Claus-like figure), involves the handing out of presents by a jovial Sinterklaas and his clownish "helper," Zwarte Piet (literal translation: Black Pete). The punch line: A white person in blackface wearing painted-on full lips and a picked-out afro typically plays Zwarte Piet. De Telegraaf apologized for the gaffe and offered: “This teaches us that it is never prudent to make jokes about sensitive and sad subjects while we are doing our journalistic work.” Laet eventually resigned after calling Mandela “the chief Piet” on Twitter, but not before saying that his comment was taken out of context because it was meant to be “sarcastic.” If Nelson Mandela can be diminished to a racist black stereotype, what hope do the rest of us have?
