APLang
DWP: 21st Century Race Issues
In the article, “Amsterdam’s Racist Black Pete Parade Under Fire,” The Daily Beast, today, raises the issue of racism, once
again. The scenario presented is not unfamiliar to us in America, but is still shocking when condoned by a national
government:
Imro Ritfeld, a Dutchman of Surinamese descent, has gotten used to hearing the same old jokes whenever the festivities for Saint Nicholas
Day approach. His friends tell him, “Hey, your family is arriving in the Netherlands again!”
A child smiles as a few hundred people, some of them dressed up as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), take part in a demonstration in favor of the
character, Saint-Nicholas' helper, at the Malieveld, in The Hague, The Netherlands, on October 26, 2013. (AFP)
They’re referring to the controversial figure of Black Pete, or Zwarte Piet, a carnival character who sports dark skin, thick red lips, gold
earrings and black curly hair. In the weeks leading up to the saint’s birthday on December 6, towns all across the Netherlands hold parades
in which revelers dress up as Black Petes, in a ritual that calls to mind the uncomfortably racist traditions of blackface and minstrel shows.
Black Pete’s defenders say that the character is a harmless helper of Saint Nick’s (or Sinterklaas, as he’s known in Dutch), whose blackened
face refers not to the country’s colonial legacy or the African slave trade, but to the chimney soot that powders his skin as he sneaks into
houses to help Santa Claus distribute presents to children. But for Ritfeld, who grew up as the only non-white kid in his town, the tradition
has always provoked uncomfortable feelings. “This party [for Saint Nicholas Day] causes me pain,” he says. “People who look like me are
put down and made fun of.”
At one time, I would have found this shocking. How could anyone think dressing in black face was an okay thing to do? But
then came Halloween, 2013. I was dumbfounded to see so many people, celebrities and anonymous citizens, dressing in
black face for their Halloween costume.
Defend, refute or qualify the statement: Race issues in the 21st Century have evolved little since the days of Dr. King.
APLang
DWP: 21st Century Race Issues
In the article, “Amsterdam’s Racist Black Pete Parade Under Fire,” The Daily Beast, today, raises the issue of racism, once
again. The scenario presented is not unfamiliar to us in America, but is still shocking when condoned by a national
government:
Imro Ritfeld, a Dutchman of Surinamese descent, has gotten used to hearing the same old jokes whenever the festivities for Saint Nicholas
Day approach. His friends tell him, “Hey, your family is arriving in the Netherlands again!”
A child smiles as a few hundred people, some of them dressed up as Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), take part in a demonstration in favor of the
character, Saint-Nicholas' helper, at the Malieveld, in The Hague, The Netherlands, on October 26, 2013. (AFP)
They’re referring to the controversial figure of Black Pete, or Zwarte Piet, a carnival character who sports dark skin, thick red lips, gold
earrings and black curly hair. In the weeks leading up to the saint’s birthday on December 6, towns all across the Netherlands hold parades
in which revelers dress up as Black Petes, in a ritual that calls to mind the uncomfortably racist traditions of blackface and minstrel shows.
Black Pete’s defenders say that the character is a harmless helper of Saint Nick’s (or Sinterklaas, as he’s known in Dutch), whose blackened
face refers not to the country’s colonial legacy or the African slave trade, but to the chimney soot that powders his skin as he sneaks into
houses to help Santa Claus distribute presents to children. But for Ritfeld, who grew up as the only non-white kid in his town, the tradition
has always provoked uncomfortable feelings. “This party [for Saint Nicholas Day] causes me pain,” he says. “People who look like me are
put down and made fun of.”
At one time, I would have found this shocking. How could anyone think dressing in black face was an okay thing to do? But
then came Halloween, 2013. I was dumbfounded to see so many people, celebrities and anonymous citizens, dressing in
black face for their Halloween costume.
Defend, refute or qualify the statement: Race issues in the 21st Century have evolved little since the days of Dr. King.