The portrayal of Santa’s Moor servant ‘Zwarte Piet’ is widely seen as offensive. Protesters applaud the decision to remove the character from children’s books
Public libraries across the Netherlands are removing from the shelves children’s books depicting a black-faced Zwarte Piet, a side-kick to Sinterklaas, in the latest sign that the country is turning the page on a festive figure widely seen as being racist.
For at least a decade, there have been protests against the practice of white people with blackened faces, curly wigs and exaggerated bright red lips depicting the character at the nationwide parades held in early December to herald the feast of Saint Nicholas.
Continue reading…The portrayal of Santa’s Moor servant ‘Zwarte Piet’ is widely seen as offensive. Protesters applaud the decision to remove the character from children’s books Public libraries across the Netherlands are removing from the shelves children’s books depicting a black-faced Zwarte Piet, a side-kick to Sinterklaas, in the latest sign that the country is turning the page on a festive figure widely seen as being racist.For at least a decade, there have been protests against the practice of white people with blackened faces, curly wigs and exaggerated bright red lips depicting the character at the nationwide parades held in early December to herald the feast of Saint Nicholas. Continue reading…