just a warning this is a video about how blackface became a Dutch holiday tradition every mid-november in the Netherlands people parade the streets dressed as Old Saint Nick and his little helpers but not like that that's New York City in the Netherlands it looks like this this is Center class or Saint Nicholas and this is his little helper sort of Pete or Black Pete he's a character from an 1850s children's book who's inspired this holiday tradition of wearing a curly black wig and lipstick and blackface some Dutch people have voiced opposition to this for decades
especially those of African and Caribbean descent that's Dutch Sesame Street in 1987 but this viral video of police arresting anti-black Pete protesters sparked a growing protest movement in the 2010s and the majority opinion has shifted in 2016 most people believe the black Peach should stay the same in 2022 most people said they think his appearance needs to change in some way but changing his appearance can mean a whole lot of different things there's gray Pete's rainbow Pete's chimney peets covered in soot and sometimes no face paint at all