Before you assume from the title that I will be defending blackface, let me stop you right now. It’s a practice that’s unacceptable due to the fact that it was historically done to mock Africans. What I want you to give is a look into why the Dutch tend to defend the practice. It’s a country where kids are exposed to blackface that’s not intended to be racist before learning its history.
I was born in The Netherlands where blackface is part of our culture. On December 5th, we celebrate a holiday called Sinterklaas, which is like a 2nd Santa Clause. Sinterklaas is a white man who rides a horse and is aided by blackface helpers. Why blackface? Dutch children ask this question just like you probably are and the excuse is that they’re covered in soot from the chimney. In absence of chimneys in children’s homes, that doesn’t make sense and so the question is repeated. Well, Sinterklaas arrives by ferry from Spain… but the Spanish aren’t exactly black like the Black Petes, as the helpers are known. As you grow older, you find out more from older siblings or kids, like the story that Sinterklaas is originally a saint from Turkey. The Black Petes wear golden hoop earrings that were used by slaves, which you might hear from older siblings or schoolmates. Still, Sinterklaas is exceptionally nice to his helpers and will ask them for advice as well. Black Petes throw and hand out Pepernoten, which are treats for the kids. And although Black Petes are also appointed to spank naughty children, it honestly never happens. And so as a kid, the major takeaway is that there is no racism involved in the celebration of the holiday. Blacks are rare in The Netherlands and so at most, you’ll assume real blacks are generally nice people.
Bring in Hollywood with actors like Eddie Murphy, Whoopie Goldberg, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Wesley Snipes, and Denzel Washington. They’re all recognized as funny, cool or both when you’re a kid. Racism doesn’t really exist in your neighborhood and so you assume any contemporary racism in movies is exaggerated.
Around the age of 12, I picked up the guitar and with my father being into experimental jazz, I got to hear and play blues quite a bit. I distinctly remember a classmate burning a CD of Muddy Waters. I downloaded music from B.B. King and John Lee Hooker and loved it all. This too contributed to my positive view of black people.
Of course, in high school you learn about colonization, slavery, discrimination and wars throughout history. For Europeans, nothing hits home quite like World War 2. Although I was brought up in a non-religious home, it’s easy to empathize with the victims. It’s an era that’s well-documented and there’s no doubt in any sane person’s mind that Hitler was downright evil. My ancestors had to go through that time period and the church tower in my hometown was used by Nazis as a watchtower. They even engraved the swastika into it. It’s easy to imagine you could have been brought up as a Jew. The fact that I was often being bullied as a kid for being overweight made it easier to imagine being discriminated against. Discrimination hits close to home, but I never had to face true racism until I moved to the US. That country where you don’t learn to associate blackface with kindness (like the Dutch do with Black Pete), but instead with deeply rooted racism.
When Barack was elected president, it was recognized as a historical moment, but I didn’t get to fully grasp the significance of it until I moved to the US during his last term. I had read the backlash and conspiracy theories coming from Republicans, but it didn’t hit me as racism until living in the US for a while.
My wife and I first lived together in a small town in eastern North Carolina. What stood out to me at first was how many churches (and different ones) there were. I was used to Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as a mosque here and there, but I was used to mostly one of each at the most in small towns. I heard from my in-laws that most people there were racist, but as a white immigrant, I didn’t really get faced with that. I believed them, but just had a different definition of racism, where at the most people would talk bad about others behind their backs (about meaningless stuff like cutting in line). However, when my wife’s black colleague invited us to her birthday party, I got a whiff of America’s racism. When we arrived, the birthday girl was nowhere to be found. Everyone else was black and at first it seemed like everything was going to go well. We were asked why we were there, we were let in and everyone was welcoming. But within a few minutes, some got more suspicious of us and we got questioned repeatedly. We couldn’t see the girl anywhere and with music blaring loudly, it was hard to communicate effectively. While the majority was encouraging us to stay and party with them, the vibes from the few who were suspicious of us were clear: this was not our party. I was taken by surprise when asked about blacks and whites and my view on it. “It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white”, I said. Why should it? The idea of being a racist in the 21st century was outlandish to me. We didn’t leave much later. It really did feel like we shouldn’t be there. It was obvious that at least some had suffered racism and it was the most uncomfortable I had felt until then. It got clear to me that evening that racism is unfortunately very much alive in today’s America.
Fast forward to 2019. I’ve heard non-whites being told, “Just wait until Trump becomes president”. I’ve heard blacks being referred to as “the wrong kind of black” after questioning whites what in the world could be wrong about the majority of workers being black. They meant to say that the workers they saw were lazy. A misguided generalization, I instantly assumed. I’ve heard people defend Confederate flags, monuments and history while simultaneously claiming they weren’t racist, although I made sure they knew I know that the Confederacy fought to preserve slavery. Still, they were proud of their Confederate ancestry.
Then, George Floyd got killed. From the media I assumed that the other officers were merely bystanders. After reading up on the case, I found out that their behavior is more sinister. They actively defended the officer who was kneeling down on Floyd’s neck. The whole thing is infuriating. The protests that followed and are still ongoing are long past due. They’re mostly peaceful, and yet I hear people talking about looters and protesters smashing car windows and so forth a lot more than I should.
And although I’m not a fan of Nascar, I did hear about Bubba Wallace finding a noose in his garage… It just encourages me to keep asking, “How racist is the US exactly?” (Update: footage from October 2019 shows the noose present before Wallace got assigned to it. Still, the news was shocking when I first heard it)
For years now, the Dutch have debated on whether Black Petes are racist. They have never experienced or seen real racism. They have only seen a positive stereotype of blacks acted out by whites. Sinterklaas was brought to Curaçao, Suriname and Bonaire, where it’s still celebrated. That makes the debate more complex than it should be. Anyone unfamiliar with the holiday and who sees a blackface Black Pete sees racism. If it’s really just supposed to be a fun holiday for kids, can’t we just tell kids that this year’s Pete is white, because nobody has chimneys anymore and Petes aren’t getting soot on their skin anymore? It’s a simple solution. The Netherlands aren’t known to be racist, but the custom is recognized as racist by anyone who isn’t Dutch. While the Confederate statues are coming down in the US, it’s time for The Netherlands to get with the times.
Didier Strijdonk 