Kick Out Zwarte Piet: A masterclass in activism
This year, activist group Kick Out Zwarte Piet abolishes itself. Symbolically, on the fifth of December, the official date of the national children’s festival of Sinterklaas. Over the past fifteen years, the group has spent fighting against the appearance of Zwarte Piet (literally translated: ‘Black Pete’), the traditional helper of Sinterklaas, which in many ways could be seen as a caricature of a black man. Often used attributes were afro-hairpieces, golden earrings, reddened lips and, most notably, dark skin. The national debate over this issue has been hard and emotional, as for many people it touched upon what they considered to be an important part of Dutch culture. Nevertheless, KOZP has seemingly been able to achieve a culture change: in all the official parades organised by municipalities this year, blackface has been traded for a less offensive alternative, most commonly a variant where the actors playing Piet just wear some light streaks of black make-up, still revealing most of the skin. With this, KOPZ considers its goals achieved. “We pass the baton to society”, says frontman Jerry Afriyie. How were they able to initiate this cultural shift?
Peaceful protest was one of the most prominent tools through which KOPZ brought attention to the discriminatory aspects of Zwarte Piet. Their first protest, in 2011 during a Sinterklaas procession in Dordrecht, already gained national attention. While they were standing near the parade with t-shirts and hoodies with their slogan ‘Zwarte Piet is racisme’ written on them, they were violently arrested by the police. Footage of this arrest catapulted the discussion about the tradition, which had been slumbering for a long time already, into nationwide controversy. In the following years, extreme and violent reactions to KOZP protests would turn out to be common occurrences. Paradoxically enough, these riots proved to be more beneficial to their cause than they did harm. The increasing harassment KOPZ protesters experienced clashed with their predominantly civil and peaceful presence. In 2017, for example, an angry mob stopped buses of the organisation from going to a protest in Friesland. Whereas before, they would often be accused of ruining a holiday meant for children, events like this helped rid them of this image. As Zwarte Piet started disappearing from the festivities -the national parade abolished it in 2019- defenders of the tradition, to an ever-greater extent, started coming from far-right extremist groups. This, too, further normalised alternatives for Zwarte Piet.
Another important factor in their success was open dialogue. Before announcing protests at places where Zwarte Piet was still used, they would get in contact with organisers to persuade them to switch to an alternative. The threat of protest put a lot of pressure on, due to the unrest they nearly without exception led to, and was in many cases enough to get the organisers to make changes. But this approach also helped to convey their message on a more personal level and actually convince people of their cause. Many people would soften or even change their opinions when confronted with how a person of colour would experience the holidays. KOPZ not only did this through talks, but they also made lesson packages and organised lectures. Through these works, they played an important role in a larger movement promoting minority rights in the Netherlands and trying to raise awareness about the Dutch colonial past. This also manifested itself in the formal excuse for the Dutch use of slavery in its colonies in 2022. At their founding, KOPZ set three goals for themselves. A more inclusive Sinterklaas was only a part of their agenda; they also wanted better education about Dutch colonial history and a national commemoration for the abolition of slavery. Their focus on Zwarte Piet was primarily because it was the most visible expression of institutionalised racism in the Netherlands.
If KOPZ did not fully reach these goals, they did get awfully close. They have been able to politicise Zwarte Piet to the point where using the classic blackface look will certainly be understood as a political statement. And maybe more importantly, they have been able to raise awareness about the unequal treatment of minorities and persons of colour in the Netherlands. It makes sense, therefore, to cease the fight. Even more so because the toll was great, with members receiving a lot of threats and harassment. Whether the changes will hold up remains to be seen. The discussion rekindles every year, and with the growth of far-right political parties, support for Zwarte Piet among the population is also growing. But it might very well be that Kick Out Zwarte Piet achieved a change that will not be easily reverted.
Disclaimer: This article was entirely human-written without the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Further reading:
https://www.telegraaf.nl/video/wierd-duk-kick-out-zwarte-piet-heeft-geleid-tot-meer-polarisatie/106026319.html https://www.volkskrant.nl/mensen/jenny-douwes-werd-het-gezicht-van-de-pro-zwarte-pietenbeweging-ik-ben-natuurlijk-wel-een-lompe-harde-friezin~b8dab159/
