The arrival of Saint Nicholas at the end of November laden with gifts for the kids of Netherlands is a treasured annual event for Dutch families.
But as part of this tradition, white men play the part of Black Peter, Santa’s “African” helper. They wear silk britches and darken their faces with black boot-polish. This inevitably triggers an impassioned debate over whether the event is a cute tradition or a racist affront to Dutch society.
This year things took an uglier turn. Video footage of several Dutch policemen manhandling a pair of Caribbean-born artists wearing “Black Peter is Racism” T-shirts has prompted renewed soul-searching about how the famously-liberal Netherlands seems to have surged to the forefront of a new wave of European intolerance.
For more: Racism in Europe's bastion of liberal tolerance? | GlobalPost
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