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