Virginia Theological Seminary

Who Is (Zwarte) Piet? A Continuing Evolution

A Turning Point

Background and Development
Growing Controversy
Change Becomes More Widespread
Controversy Continues
More Sooty Piets
A Turning Point
The Tide Has Turned
Protesters in The Hague, 2019

Following the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Black Lives Matter movement became vastly more energized and prominent. Demonstrations spread far beyond the United States, into other parts of the world, shining light on often long-ignored injustice in other societies, too.

The Netherlands was not exempt and the BLM movement brought increased focus to what, as in other countries, had been the long downplayed legacy of slave trading and slave holding during the colonization era. The Dutch Prime Minister has admitted there was "systematic racism" and that Zwarte Piet was part of the issue. Leiden University researcher Judi Mesman said the persistence of the tradition shows that Dutch education needs to be overhauled, "Our history books are selective."

Public Attitudes Shift

Dutch opinion polls have measured support for the traditional blackfaced Zwarte Piet. In 2013 Dutch support for the character was 89%. That number dropped to 71% in November 2019. Since the Black Lives Matter protests, the percentage supporting Black Peter declined to 47% in June 2020.

Cities that have changed to Roetpieten (Sooty or Chimney Piets) include Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, Arnhem, Nijmegen. Hilversum, The Hague, Haarlem, Utrecht, and Drachten.

Libraries are quietly removing books with Zwarte Piet. Anton Kok, Director of the Association of Public Libraries, says, "There is a growing awareness everywhere that Zwarte Piet gives a stereotypical image of a certain part of the population and the libraries are moving along with it." He said that over time lots of books have been removed because they were 'contrary to morality.' Tineke van Ham, from the advisory organization in Gelderland and Overijssel, said 2020 is a turning point. "This is mainly due to a 'changing demand.' Parents and schools want books without Zwarte Piet." Kok continued, "White children don't care about another Piet and black children find it strange and nasty and that is what matters."

Social Media

The first major 2020 change came in Facebook's August 2020 announcement. Following a nine-month process, they stated that blackface characters would no longer be allowed on Facebook and Instagram's social media platforms. Sooty Piets, with "soot" streaks on their faces, will still be allowed.

Facebook further said that blackface has a "continuous history of dehumanization and denied civil rights. By blackface, we mean that a person has a distinct black or darker face paint, combined with stereotyping elements such as large earrings, an afro wig or large lips." A FB spokesman said, "Experts say that blackface is racist. That's how this policy came about. As a result, Zwarte Piet is also prohibited." The policy on Piets applies to both the Netherlands and Belgium.

Images will be removed if they show:

  • A person with skin that has been darkened and/or other stereotypical characteristics;
  • A family photo with a child sitting on Zwarte Piet's lap;
  • Zwarte Piet with political statements like 'Zwarte Piet is not racist.'

The retroactive policy will remove such images posted before the policy announcement. Exceptions will include postings from anti-Zwarte Piet advocates, neutral news reports about the debate, and such discussions.

Facebook was unconcerned about losing some of its Dutch users, saying, "This could be a setback, but it is the right choice for us." They also said their policy change was independent of the Black Lives Matter movement and the advertising boycott, as it had been in process long before.

From their Dutch blog post, "Facebook does not consider it acceptable for people to feel discriminated against or feel unsafe because of certain messages. Sinterklaas is a party for everyone."

In carrying out the policy the largest Facebook groups of supporters, some with tens of thousands of members, were being removed as part of the policy banning content that conveys "implicit hate speech" like blackface or anti-Semitic stereotypes. Facebook plans to use artificial intelligence to keep all the blackface Zwarte Piet images off its platform.

Google banned advertising and YouTube videos showing not only blackface Piets, but also sooty Piets. Google said, "We have seen that some alternative forms of Black Pete are still based on racial stereotypes." They did not explain which aspects were of concern.

Retail Changes

Increasingly since 2015, retailers have been moving from products depicting a blackface Piet. Bol.com, the largest Benelux online store for books, toys, and electronics, announced all products showing Zwarte Piet in a discriminatory way would be removed.

"Following recently received feedback and insights we have concluded that 'Black Piet' can be seen as hurtful," the company said. In making the decision advice was sought from the Dutch ministry of justice and the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. The reason given for the change was "progressive insight, in keeping with current events in the Netherlands and Belgium." All text will change "Zwarte Piet" to just "Piet." Continuing, "Bol.com is a shop for everyone. That means that everyone has to be able to have access to us and feel welcome. Feeling welcome doesn't match with products that incite discrimination or hate."

Customers who fled from Bol.com to Coolblue found that Coolblue has the same policy as Bol.com. Coolblue told a customer who said she was switching to them for that reason, "Nice that you are ordering from us, but we would like to add that we more than agree with our competitors." 

Amazon, a recent addition to the Netherlands, reported removing Zwarte Piet items. The other major online retailer Wehkamp carries books, music, videos and DVDs, but not other Zwarte Piet items.

These online merchants join others that have been removing blackface or changing Piet images since 2015. These include department store de Bijenkorf, grocers Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Vroom & Dreesman, and Hema.

Data from 2015-2019 show most products do not include a Piet character, a decline in products with white people in blackface, and some increase in Piets with "sooty" faces
Figure from European Race & Imagery Foundation (ERIF)

More Cities

The list of municipalities offering Sinterklaas celebrations for all children keeps growing, now at : Amersfoort, Amstelveen, Amsterdam, Amsterdam Zuidoost, Arnhem, Assen, Baarn, Bergen op Zoom, Bunnik, Eindhoven, Groningen, Heemstede, Helmond, Hilversum, Hoorn, Houten, Leiden, Maarssen, Middelburg, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, The Hague, Tilburg, Utrecht, Vlaardingen, Voorschoten, Wageningen, Weesp, and Zwolle. Feest voor Alle Kinderen has a literal map showing all the cities. Check for updates!

"The Netherlands is getting better!" 

tweeted Jerry Afriyie, the Dutch-based human rights activist who started the Kick Out Zwarte Piet movement.

"What has happened this year is that it all came together" after years of efforts by Kick Out Zwarte Piet, says Afriyie. The Black Lives Matter protests in the US "made people, especially young people, look at their own situation" in the Netherlands and realise they hae been "hearing this same story for the past 9-10 years. It made sure that we kind of took off and helped us to make a giant step forward, definitely," he added.

So Long, Black Pete NPR looks at the Zwarte Piet tradition following George Floyd protests in the Netherlands. Guests include member of Parliament Amma Assante and "Kick Out Black Piet" activist Jerry Afriyie. The Dutch Polder Model to reach consensus in Alkmaar is shown, also.

SOURCES
  • "Facebook, Instagram ban images of Blackface Zwarte Piet, Jewish Stereotypes," by Zack Newmark, NLTimes, August 11, 2020
  • "Blackface photos banned from Facebook and Instagram," by Laurence Dodds, The Telegraph, August 11, 2020
  • "Facebook and Instagram ban images of Zwarte Piet," by Maïthé Chini, The Brussels Times, August 11, 2020
  • "Facebook is banning controversial Dutch character 'Zwarte Piet' by Anouk Vleugels, TheNextWeb, August 15, 2020
  • "Zwarte Piet: Dutch people finally turning against their bizarre racist Christmas character 'Black Piet" by Leo Cendrowicz, iNews, August 29, 2020
  • "Dutch online store bans 'Black Pete' merchandise as 'hurtful'", by Karolin Schaps, Reuters, August 20, 2020
  • "Zwarte Piet-voorvechters vluchten van Bol.com naar Coolblue, maar tevergeefs," adformatie.nl, August 20, 2020
  • "Over en uit voor Zwarte Piet bij grote webshops, Amazon sluit zich in de rij aan," by Sebastiaan Quekel, AD.nl, August 25, 2020
  • Bol.com weert boeken en spullen waar Zwarte Piet op staat," NOS.nl, August 19, 2020
  • "Identity crisis as part of a new beginning?" ERIF, June 5, 2020
  • "5 Years of Monitoring Blackface in the Market: ERIF Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study 2020," European Race & Imagery Foundation, June 2020
  • "The Netherlands' 'Black Pete' Just God Cancelled on Facebook," by Tim Hume, Vice World News, September 4, 2020
  • "Google to ban Zwarte Piet's sooty replacement as a 'racial stereotype," DutchNews.nl, October 28, 2020
  • "Bibliotheken verwijderen boeken met Zwarte Piet: 'Smaldeel bepaalt niet ons beleid'" by Eefje Oomen, AD.nl, November 12, 2020
  • "Public libraries in the Netherlands remove children's books depicting St Nicholas' blacked up sidekick 'Black Pete' which could spell end of nationwide 'racist' festive parades," by Amelia Wynne, DailyMail.com, November 15, 2020
  • "Dutch campaigner sees progress in 'Black Pete' fight," AFP, rfi, November 24, 2020
  • "In a year of Black Lives Matter protests, Dutch wrestle (again) with the tradition of Black Pete," The Conversation, December 3, 2020

FURTHER RESOURCES

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