Dutch leader wants racist festive figure gone
Manawatu¯ ’s Dutch Club could be leading New Zealand’s communities from the Netherlands in ditching the racist tradition of black-faced helpers at Sinterklaas pre-christmas parties.
President Joost de Bruin said he was encouraging other clubs to change the way they celebrated Sinterklaas – a Dutch legend based on patron saint of children St Nicholas – without the Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, character, because nondutch viewed it as clearly racist.
The Manawatu¯ club’s Sinterklaas party in Foxton this month included Piets, but they had tiny Dutch flags on their faces, not black paint.
The move was in contrast to a Rotorua party, where society president Anneke Meerkerk defended Black Pete as a piece of culture, not racism.
De Bruin said he was keen to encourage Dutch societies to work through a process of cultural change that was already occurring in the Netherlands.
‘‘It is complex, and we are not all on the same page yet.
‘‘It is hard to explain to Dutch people that it is so obviously racist to people looking from the outside.’’
The Black Pete character was invented as a time when young boys from an African background were brought to Spain as servants or slaves. De Bruin remembers Zwarte Piet often being a terrifying figure who would threaten to take children back to Spain if they were naughty.
He said that while some Dutch people had fond memories of the character as part of their Sinterklaas celebrations, there was no escaping the fact it was deeply embedded in racist history.
The United Nations has urged the Netherlands to get rid of Black Pete, and guidelines have been issued, with Amsterdam no longer including the character in its Sinterklaas Parade.
De Bruin said he would be sharing guidelines at the Dutch Communities New Zealand annual meeting next year. He did not want to take a hard line, recognising that the process of cultural change was harder for some than others, but he wanted to encourage the communities to find ways to change the appearance of Black Pete.
Former New Plymouth mayor and self-proclaimed recovering racist Andrew Judd, who was critical of the Rotorua celebration, said Manawatu¯ ’s example was a positive step which demonstrated that the use of black face paint had no place in today’s society.
‘‘It’s also encouraging to hear that the national president is taking a proactive stance with the Dutch clubs of New Zealand.’’
De Bruin remembers Zwarte Piet being a terrifying figure who would threaten to take children back to Spain if they were naughty.