NEDERLANDS | DEUTSCH | FRANÇAIS

This year, the UN International Decade for People of African Descent comes to an end. This ending coincides with the forming of a far right-wing cabinet in the Dutch government, helmed by the PVV (The People’s Freedom Party). Indeed, European politics continues to move ever-rightward, putting the safety of all racially minoritised peoples even more at risk. In the Netherlands, the xenophobic and polarising ideologies of Geert Wilders’ PVV cast a long and palpable shadow. For example, following the PVV’s clear win at the 2023 Dutch general elections, Wilders voiced his support for the return of Zwarte Piet in the Sinterklaas parades. In typical nativist-nationalist fashion, the pro-Piet camp feel that any alterations to their beloved festival, including the removal of racial mimicry and derision, is an insult to their culture and a sign that their position in Dutch society is being displaced. Wilders’ statement implies not mere political support, but explicit political encouragement for white people to dress up in blackface to jeer at people of African descent, while mockingly performing as the enslaved caricature.       

Therefore, we publish our annual Sinterklaas Brand and Product report (the ninth) on the same day as Keti Koti, which means “broken chains” in Sranantongo. Keti Koti is held each year across the Netherlands and in Suriname on July 1st to commemorate the nominal end of the enslavement of Africans by the Dutch in 1863. Our year-on-year research chronicles how the sustained bold and outspoken criticism of Zwarte Piet impacts the festival by influencing stores and brands, who in turn shape “Sinterklaas” with how they market the festival’s mythology, as well as with the very products they sell. This research has always been a longitudinal study on how marketing relates to (racialised) belonging on one hand, and an archival testament to the effectiveness of anti-racist campaign work on the other. In just over a decade, activists across the Netherlands have strived tirelessly and begun to reform one of the biggest holidays in the country, so that every family can participate and be included with dignity. We know that whatever the new Dutch government brings, these activists’ work will continue and ERIF will also persevere by recording the ebbs and flows of their triumphs.  

This year’s report features quantitative and qualitative data collected during the 2023 Sinterklaas season (October to December) by fieldworkers across the country. The graph above illustrates the key trends and shifts our quantitative data collection has captured in the past four years. We can see that grade 2 Sinterklaas products (items and decorations featuring a silhouette or partially hidden Piet character) continue to squeeze the overall share and, thus, contribute to the ongoing shrinkage of grade 1 (merchandise with no reference to the Piet character whatsoever). The so-called “sooty Piet” presence (grade 5) continues to fluctuate as various brands, stores and other platforms play with this narrative instead of all out blackface. At the other end of the spectrum, derogatory cartoon imagery meant to depict people of African descent (grade 7) continues to decline.     

Want to find out more about these results, in addition to our latest updates on specific stores and brands? You can read the full report here. Translations in other languages of this summary are also available. For any questions or suggestions about this research, please contact us at info@erifonline.org      

About ERIF

Founded in 2013, the European Race and Imagery Foundation (ERIF) aims to re-imagine a more inclusive Europe. We expose and criticize dominant narratives of belonging and racist imagery and amplify stories of resistance and towards liberation. All our activities seek to remedy how mainstream anti-racism neglects the histories, views and creativity of Black people and people of colour. In this perspective, ERIF produces events (conferences and workshops), social media campaigns (e.g. our Quotes of Resistance campaigns), online content (blog posts and toolkits) and research projects and publications (e.g. the annual Sinterklaas report; a special issue for Darkmatter journal about blackface in Europe), with the aim of amplifying, connecting across countries and facilitating the accessibility of antiracism efforts by activists, scholars, artists and (non-)citizens.