The problem is that the character of Black Pete is so ingrained in the Dutch mind, that even black people from the Dutch Caribbean and Suriname black up to play Black Pete. For some reason they disassociate themselves from the character , although it's historically a black servant and not a chimney sweeper (see the photo in the book of Jan Schenkman from 1850, upper left) .
Another reason why some black people don't mind playing the servant of Sinterklaas is because most black Dutch Caribbean people have no knowledge of the racist American Blackface history, so blacking up apparently isn't regarded offensive (the photo below in the middle is a black woman from Curacao and the photo upper right is a black man from Suriname). But luckily there are also many black people who do find it racist.
The newspaper story (translated)
Sint Nicolaas once started out without Black Pete and it's now time to move on without Black Pete." For Amsterdam alderman Andrée van Es it's clear that the black servant of Sint Nicolaas [Sinterklaas] had its day. This makes her the first alderman in the country who openly distance herself from the phenomenon that seems inextricably linked with the popular event.If it’s up to the alderman, the blacked up face will be replaced with a single sweep soot. That is also the proposal of John Helsloot of the Dutch culture research institute, the Meertens Institute. “Black Pete is essentially a racist phenomenon, " says the researcher today in an interview with this newspaper. "The phenomenon is in the tradition of an old notion that a subservient role for dark-skinned people is simply the best."
Helsloot points out to the ratification by the Netherlands of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. "A wonderful opportunity to say goodbye to Zwarte Piet." (Source: Parool)
Protests
It's great that the Dutch alderman is taking a stand, but history shows that what's on the agenda today will be off the agenda tomorrow. So a brief history of the protests.
In 1986 the movement Suriname left protested against Sinterklaas with the slogan "Sinterklaas is a racist" and in 1987 the group "White Klaas and Black Pete is not a celebration. Racism is everywhere" also campaigned against the celebration.
From 1994 until up to 1997 the Aktie commitee Zwarte Piet is Zwart verdriet ("Action Commitee Black Pete is Black sadness" ) protested against the character in Amsterdam Southeast. Amsterdam Southeast is the place where many black people life in Amsterdam. In a document the protesters wrote:
Our protest were met with aggression. People spitted on us, wanted to fight with us and wanted to pull the picket signs out her hands. Also the police responded aggressive. During our first demonstration they were present on horses, with buses and motorcycles. They stood in front of us with long bats and blocked our entrance. In 1996 even the national bureau against racism wrote in a letter, Black Pete is not a racist symbol. Since 1997 they have different opinion.
In 2008 two white Swiss artists planned an artistic protest march against Black Pete in the city of Eindhoven, but the march was cancelled after personal threats towards the artists and the museum who organized the accompanying exhibition.
And in 2011 after months of preparation and artistic activism of artist Quincy Gario and Kno'Lege Cesare, the protest against Black Pete ended in the violent arrest of the Gario at a Sinterklaas parade. Because his arrest was filmed and posted on YouTube it triggered huge media interest worldwide.
The tangible achievements of all the protest were the multicolored Petes and the fact that Schiphol airport abolished Sinterklaas. The airport cancelled it because they knew that not everyone could relate to this Dutch tradition. So how much I applaud the statement of elderman Andree van Es I have seen more in the past.
But there is good news. Although Quincy Gario's protest was short, it did put the issue back on the agenda. Perhaps as a result of the huge media attention last year and the debate in Suriname in the same year, the Sinterklaas celebration in Suriname was cancelled this year. The 70 year old Dutchman who played Sinterklaas for years felt he wasn't welcome anymore because of the ongoing debate about racism in the country. So exit Black Pete in the former colony.
But on the island of Curacao Sinterklaas it is still celebrated, at least last year.
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| Photo karenattiah.com |
And the excuse that Sinterklaas is only for kids is not entirely true. This year there will be a special celebration of Sinterklaas and Black Pete in the Municipal Theatre of Amsterdam on 5 December, especially for adults. Check how the "grown ups" party in an earlier celebration on YouTube.
The future
Will Black Pete ever become white? I think eventually the story of Sinterklaas will be re-written and the white Pete will make its entrance in the celebration. If you can come up with a story that Black Peter is actually a chimney sweeper and not a black person, you can also find an excuse why Pete has become white. A black Sinterklaas isn't necessary and I accept a white Pete with curly black hair for now.
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Netherlands
Thanks a lot for keeping us informed about the latest happenings with "Black Pete". Even though I was baptized, had first Holy Communion, catechism, and educated in the Catholic faith, I never heard of Santa having a Black helper until reading this at this blog. Maybe I was absent the day this was taught. :-) I knew that Balthazar, one of the Three Kings purportedly from Ethiopia, was Black, but didn't know about Pete.
ReplyDeleteI believe that, if Afro-Dutch find this character racist, then, by all means, do away with him! It's interesting, however, that Blacks in Curacao do not. In fact, in the You Tube clip there are several Blacks with tar-colored faces seemingly enjoying themselves. I just can't come to a conclusion on this. As I said, I'll let the Black communities in Holland and in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean have the last word.
John, it's not Santa Claus, it's a celebration before Christmas. It's typical Dutch folklore.
Delete@ John
DeleteBut John, even if I just speak within a black American context, I can cite multiple examples where black people have internalized white racism to the point where we propagate, enforce and perpetuate negative, racist stereotypes about ourselves. "Cooning" is all over place. There are so many songs, music videos, TV shows and movies that millions of black people ADORE and revel in, which in my opinion, would more or less fall under modern day minstrelsy. Black people EVER bombard ourselves across media platforms with the sassy yet nurturing "mammy," the sexually objectified "Hottentot Venus," the "mad black woman," the unsophisticated, illiterate, broken English/slang wielding "buffoon," the dangerous, hyper-masculine "thug," the sex-obsessed, predatory, untrustworthy "player." I could go on forever. Hell, Tyler Perry, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne are pop icons and they have endorsed and utilized every one of those stereotypes. My point is that although it may appear that black people are exercising agency over their self-imagining via the "enjoyment" and employment of black oriented stereotypes, in reality, they are nothing more than victims of centuries of self-denigrating, inferiority indoctrinating brainwashing and mind control by way of the white hegemony. Black people have taken the white establishment's twisted notions of us and at their lead, internalized them to the point where we believe those stereotypes are not only innate to us, but BELONG to us to use as we choose! >>> Whites saw Blacks as buffoons. Whites needed Blacks to be buffoons. Whites treated Blacks like buffoons. Whites called Blacks buffoons. Whites created a system that lend to Blacks looking like, seeming like, and eventually becoming buffoons. Blacks began to believe that we must be buffoons. Blacks then embraced and laughed at our buffoonery. Blacks then commodified our buffoonery. Thus, EVERYONE (including blacks) sees Blacks as buffoons. The White hegemony succeeded.<<<
And if the propagation of racist stereotypes doesn't stem from self-hatred and mind rape, then the only other possibility is sheer IGNORANCE of WHY cultural institutions like Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piete are socially, culturally and psychologically dangerous and should be shut down. And I'd say that ignorance also probably plays a huge part in why many Whites don't see the harm in Zwarte Piet. HOWEVER, oftentimes, even when their ignorance has been debunked, there still remains a strong unwavering sense of PRIVILEGE that persists to the point where they refuse to give up harmful and hurtful traditions. And just as privilege is hard to let go of when it's been systematically indoctrinated into one's being, the same applies to those who have always lacked privilege. They will always struggle to feel worthy and good enough, ever haunted by the notion that at their core, they are eternally destitute and inferior. That is why at the end of the day, I believe that blacks "enjoying" Zwarte Piet comes down to internalized racism.
Thanks, Afro-Europe, for the correction. Black Pete is PRE-Christmas and not part of the pan-European Santa Claus celebrations. Got it.
DeleteBlk. Viking:
You've written a mini masterpiece about the pathologies of internalized racism that we, the African Diaspora as well as continental Africans, suffer. No arguments with you. No, siree! In fact, I concur with your convictions wholeheartedly. I've dedicated my life---since I was 16 years old---to the quest of unraveling this sinuous and seemingly unending cord of anti-Blackness that coils around and ensnares all Afro peoples of our planet. So we're most definitely on the same page.
My "coyish" hesitance of outright blasting Black Pete as racist was due, primarily, for two reasons.
1.) I am very sensitive about dispensing my opinion on matters outside the African-American scope of things if they could be construed as "negative"---for fear of being plastered with that deleterious label "Ugly American" and by extension, "Arrogant American". I know, from personal experience, that when it comes to discussion of things global, we Americans---both white AND Black---sometimes easily fall into that disrespectful category of "know-it-all-ness". I've seen it on many occasions and have been witness to the ugly fallout, too.
2.) In the You Tube clip the Blacks in Curacao practically reveled in their apparent merriment to soot their faces and don past century costumes reflecting the persona Black Pete. They were even accompanied by percussive instruments to add to the festive nature of it all.
Now if these were African-Americans I probably would've said something to the effect of "Look at them. They're dancing at a fool's ball, with their faces all smeared with that nasty black grease!" But, since I know that in Carnaval of Curacao, Carnaval of Dominican Republic, and Carnaval of Haiti, whose origins and folkoric practices I know well, the tradition of grease-painting one's face until it becomes oily, shiny black is "tradition", I stepped aside and kept my "mouth" (words) quiet.
If I or a slew of Blacks in the United States were to begin an Internet and then print complaint and/or possible campaign against Black Pete activities in Curacao, even when we felt that this was undeniably self-deprecating and offensive to the dignity of ALL African-descended peoples, we'd have literal bags of "black stuff" thrown in our faces in the form of defensive angry self-justifications about why this is Dutch Caribbean folklore and it is "our culture" etc. etc. and Black Americans need to clean up their own house---specifically "Madea's House of Buffoonery." And if Black Americans are so "self-assured in their Blackness'" why is it that almost ALL African-American female celebs and entertainers have straight hair glued, woven and stapled to their scalps? Some even unnaturally blonde?" Ahem. AHEM. (The Diaspora can get VEEERY "tit for tat" in its defensiveness, Blk Viking, as you probably already know).
But as for YOU, having that direct tie to the European continent, you have far more leeway to comment, analyze and critique without being saddled with the backlash I mentioned above. So, as I carefully watch MY words, YOU can be my spokesman and say them for me. LOL! It's quite funny and even uncanny how your sentiments about the world scene mirror mine with sheer exactitude!
LOL Yeah John, I get what you mean wholeheartedly and figured as much on my own. Nevertheless, I had to still call a spade a spade because I didn't want others to misread your tact and humility as an acceptance of that foolishness.
DeleteBut as AfroEurope pointed out in his well written article, the black Dutch community and the Dutch speaking Caribbean are slowly waking up and coming to their senses on the matter. The white establishment spiked that Koolaid they forced us to drink with heavy tranquilizers and sedatives so I understand that it may take a while (to my impatient dismay) for some to awake from their comas, shake off the after effects and get the hell up.
And even though I respect and acknowledge intra-cultural/national differences and perspectives amongst black peoples, I believe that we must, with radical candor, put the focus on our commonalities and be unified in the pursuit of uplift for ALL peoples of African descent. EVERY institution based on racism and discrimination, regardless of nation or culture, must be called out...by us all. And the truth of the matter is that black Americans have written the playbook on demolishing racial institutions (even though the battle isn't over) and so more times than not, our perspectives SHOULD be heard and strongly considered. I'm well aware of that "tit for tat," "Us v. Them" deflection by the less "liberated" and all it does is waste time, cause further division and distract from what's most important. Ain't nobody got time for that.
The custom of White people "blackening up" is related to the pre-Christian and early Christian beliefs about evil beings, and the Devil as a Black person or a dark skinned person.
ReplyDeleteOn September 3, 2012 I wrote a lengthy comment on another Afro-Europe post about this topic as it connects with the tradition of Black Pete :
http://afroeurope.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-its-like-to-be-african-american-in.html
Here's a portion of that comment:
"According to myths dating to the beginning of the 19th century, Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) operated by himself or in the companionship of a devil. Having triumphed over evil, it was said that on Saint Nicholas Eve, the devil was shackled and made his slave. A devil as a helper of the Saint can also still be found in Austrian Saint Nicholas tradition in the character of Krampus."...
Since Sinterklaas isn't over yet, a video on how black Americans feel about Black Pete in the Netherlands. The video was made for a Dutch newspaper. See it at: http://www.telegraaf.nl/s/21131366
ReplyDeleteOF COURSE they'd air the opinions of "simplistic" thinking black Americans who believe that Zwarte Piet isn't offensive because "there wasn't a motive to make fun of" or that "it's a different country." Ridiculous. Even if something isn't MEANT to be racist and injurious, that does not mean that it isn't still racist and injurious and that people shouldn't be offended. How is that not common sense?
DeleteBlkViking, I am not sure it's simplistic thinking, perhaps they give White Europeans the benefit of the doubt and see it as some old backward European tradition with no hidden "confederate" agenda behind it, so to speak.
DeleteAlthough I understand that you say that they should see Zwarte Piet as racist, there is a difference between saying something is racist by definition and actually perceiving it as such.
I regard Zwarte Piet as racist, but a long time ago I didn't perceive it as Blackface, simply because I didn't know what Blackface actually was. I just regarded Blackface as a white person with a black face. Now that I know the history of Blackface, there is still a difference between how I see Zwarte Piet and how many Black American see it.
If I would argue in the Netherland that Zwarte Piet is racist because it is Blackface, I think I would not have strong argument. I would bring the argument in a setting which is not Dutch, nor European. Sure someone may have seen Blackface in the US and exported it to Europe, but there was no Jim Crow or the KKK behind the door.
To cut it short, I think those black Americans are perhaps doing the same thing. They place the non-American European Zwarte Piet in a different context and therefore regard the blackening up as less racist.
If I would immigrate to the US, I think that I should be offended [as you mentioned] when I see something that looks like Blackface. Perhaps because that would be right position for a black person living in a country with such a racist tradition and history.
To end, I sometimes hear black Americans make statements which would be totally unacceptable in The Netherlands. I recently saw a video about dark skinned women, in the video the boy said: "I look funny with a dark skinned girl beside me". And someone also said: "You're a beautiful, for a black girl". For me, these are very, very, very racist statements. I have never heard anyone make such statements in my life! But should I regard it as racism, or should I wind it down to “colourism”.
Sure I know the issues, but apparently there is difference to what I perceive as utterly racist and some black Americans see as utterly racist. We both know it's racist, but we give it another treatment. I think the same goes for the mild opinion of some of the black Americans in the video.
I see your point AfroEurope and I get how what I said perhaps came off a bit harsher/more unfair than I intended. Allow me to further elucidate what I meant. One of the main things that separates me and the Americans in that video is that I don't give White Europeans the "benefit of the doubt," so to speak. Nope, not one bit. I put them in the same category as the White Americans and Brits that spread the practice of Blackface during the 19th/20th century. Personally, I believe that Blackface (USA and the UK), Zwarte Piet (Netherlands), the Golliwog (UK), Tin Tin and the Congo (Belgium), MemÃn PinguÃn (Latin America), Negerbollar/Negroeballs (Sweden), Negerkussen/Negroe Kisses (Germany) ALL emanate from the same white hegemonic ethos that for centuries, has "terrorized," mocked and ridiculed black bodies. If anything, I blame White Europeans for first creating and stewing the insidious anti-black traditions and ideologies that would later spread to the US (a former EUROPEAN colony).
DeleteBoth the Anglo-American Empire and the Netherlands participated in the commodification and brutalization of black bodies WAY before traditional Blackface and Zwarte Piet as we know them took root and became popular. These nations had a history of dehumanizing black people and committing great acts of violence against every aspect of us--our bodies, minds, likenesses, cultures, religions,etc... At every turn and in every way, there was an intent, both "conscious" and "subconscious," covert and subvert, to tear down the black body in order to justify its abuse, continued abuse and use as a subhuman beast of burden and overall inferior being unworthy of human decency. In my opinion, Blackface and Zwarte Piet are natural offshoots and continuations of "violence" against blackness.
Therefore, when I first saw Zwarte Piet, in actuality, I didn't immediately think of Blackface in a traditional American context. I instantly saw the bigger picture...the older, longer narrative against blackness that has been going on for centuries; the narrative that connects most Western European nations as I showed above with my list of "darky" iconography that spans the continent. My righteous indignation and disgust primarily stemmed from seeing white people ONCE AGAIN don a patronizing and condescending likeness of a black body for their entertainment while simultaneously excluding, dismissing and silencing an authentic black voice and perspective. If playing and dressing up like Zwarte Piet had been reserved only for black people, it still would have been problematic but the fact that white people had taken complete agency over a black body without giving a wet rat's matted behind about what blacks thought or felt, further compounded the notion that we don't really matter in their consciousness. ONCE AGAIN, we are made invisible and thus, the "violence" continues. And that pisses me off as I feel like it should any person of African descent. So, when I called those black Americans "simplistic," I meant that they don't see how long and steep the White European "campaign" against blackness goes. They don't see the much bigger narrative and how ultimately, both Blackface and Zwarte Piet come from the same "place."
Thanks for the clear explanation BlkViking, I now see what you meant: Europe is the root, so why be mild.
Delete@ "The Blk Viking".
DeleteAs that popular expression goes: "You learn something new every day!" Well, I have. This tome, this magna opus of yours about the origin of New World World Anti-Blackness you've shared with us has sent light bulbs going on all over my mind! Whew!
I say this for a specific reason: I have always, ALWAYS given white Europeans "the benefit of the doubt" in ways that their North American "offshoots" have never gotten from me. My experience has been that white Americans---particularly white American males---have been the ones who have had the sinister desire to erase, exterminate and obliterate my black presence from the mosaic of their white neighborhoods, schools and social milieu. (I've lived exclusively in white neighborhoods since I was 14).
Oddly enough, I never really "connected the dots" and realized that this "mission of madness" to "invisibilize" John from their Whiteness had origins stretching back into Europe. (Light bulb moment!) Because I have never had any type of racist, disrespectful or even arrogant experiences with white Europeans I have met, befriended, and even loved, perennially I have concluded: "See! SEE, John! It's these AMERICAN Whites who are the most 'anti-social' (that's NOT the word I REALLY used, but this is a wholesome blog, so I can't say my true word. LOL!) in their relations with Black Americans. Europeans are good people! Look how they treat me. Look how they have even loved me!"
I don't know. This world can be a crazy place, Blk Viking. Even moreso when it comes to deciphering the codes, nuances and seemingly brain-busting algebraic life challenges of being an Afro descended male in the United States! Will I now look at white Europeans "side eyed" and with a perpetual questioning gaze? Do I come to the conclusion that "THEY", white Europeans, are the cause of this never-resolved conundrum that African American males face every day of our lives: Are we true Americans? Do we REALLY "fit in"? Why are we so devalued in this society? Should present-day white Europeans share the onus and animus for the literal "hot mess" that Black males in the U.S. experience, I once reserved exclusively for stateside whites?
Oof! You've forced me to put my Thinking Cap on, Blk Viking. And I guess that's a good thing. Or is it? I hope against hope that what I find and further THINK about White Europe doesn't enrage me......
God help me! LOL!
Haha. John, it is no mere coincidence that as the Trans-Atlantic slave trade hit its peak in the 18th century, scientific and biological racism privileging Western Europeans and de-privileging black Africans began to emerge. And when Western European imperialism and colonization apexed during the late 19th century and early 20th century, the proponents of scientific racism were at their most vitriolic, extreme, caustic and hateful. And it is not happenstance that the foremost thinkers and leaders of scientific racism (UK, France, Germany, US, Netherlands) came from nations that had the greatest stakes in the commodification and/or subjugation of black and non-white bodies. From those racist ideologies, arose Jim Crow, Nazism and Apartheid. When it comes to systemic and institutionalized racism, yes, the US may have taken the ball and ran with it but who provided the ball in the first place? EUROPE.
DeleteNow, unlike the US, most Western European nations didn’t have many enslaved Blacks and/or colonial subjects living within their borders alongside Whites. Therefore, they avoided the social, political, emotional and spiritual tension and angst that ultimately culminated in a racially motivated Civil War which literally divided and tore the nation apart. In the US, to Whites, Blacks represented a precarious and threatening presence; an enslaved disenfranchised people contesting their enslavement and disenfranchisement and asserting their humanity at the cost of White privilege. The concept of racism in the US developed into this dynamic and complex locus-institution-ideology that would keep Whites and Blacks at odds and in extreme tension to this very day.
Though Western European nations engaged in similarly tense racially motivated bloodshed during colonization, most of the populace within Western European nations were neither confronted with the intense violence that usually took place at the hands of their governments overseas nor the peoples on the receiving end of that violence. The Western European governments shielded their citizens from their brutal dealings and instead, romanticized and sentimentalized the people of the lands they colonized. This created a social-cultural-political-emotional distance that when confronted with black or non-white peoples, allowed curiosity and novelty (though still racially condescending) to develop in the place of hostile tension and angst (violence, lynchings, etc…). So, when few Blacks did come to Western Europe (W.E.B. Dubois, Josephine Baker, James Baldwin), they were usually well received and regarded as interesting, exotic visitors.
Now, fast forward to today where extensive immigration from former colonies and other “colorful” nations over the past few decades have forced Western Europeans into showing their true colors. Look at the increase in racially motivated hate speech and violence all over Europe; look at the rise of far right political parties and movements actually finding representation within government institutions. Remember when Western Europe was a bastion of hope and freedom for African-Americans during the early 20th century? Those days are long gone and why? Because Europeans were perfectly fine with accepting us in limited, small, “manageable” quantities so long as we didn’t threaten their White privileged status quo. But now that we want the same liberties, rights, equalities and HUMAN dignities that they possess, they are threatened and therefore have become violent and hostile. So, once again, both Americans and Western Europeans come from the SAME white privileged ethos that lead to slavery, colonialism, imperialism, scientific racism, Jim Crow, apartheid, National Socialism, etc…
And I want to be clear because I'm sure that my tone can be easily misconstrued. I do not hate White people, American or European. In fact, I don't endorse hating people period. For one, I have white blood myself and two, I happen to love and like a number of them. What I do hate, is White hegemonic power structures and institutions that privilege whiteness and de-privilege non-whiteness and blackness. I hate racism and discrimination. And I dis-like any people, regardless of race and culture, that utilize racist practices, doctrines, ideologies and institutions.
DeleteHere on the left coast it's 8:30 PM. It's been a long day prowling the streets and shopping-places of San Francisco. So I come into my apartment, drink "hella" amounts of cold water (San Franciscospeak) LOL! after all that walking, settle down into my comfy chair, and go to Afro-Europe blog and read a discourse from the reincarnation of Eldridge Cleaver (BEFORE "he found religion"!) James Baldwin, and Kwame Toure (nee Stokeley Carmichael) all rolled into one. Man, oh, MAN! Blk Viking, Blk Viking, Blk Viking! I wish I had known of your PASSIONATE Afro-Healing writing and thinking when I lived back in the Midwest and I would've flown you in to speak to a group I was involved in back there. YOU-ARE-A-"SOUL-ON-FIRE!" And, I quickly add, as you've probably been told by those who are close to you, with a gift like yours---this knowledge of and burning quest for Afro-Truth---it can spur you on to leadership, community activism and powers that you may have never even dreamt of!
DeleteHear me, "Michael Eric Dyson!" (Or is it Eric Michael Dyson?) I know what I'm speaking of. I come from a city of Black activists, Black "Firsts", Black militancy, and, for a few decades, even Black economic power. I've seen and met many, many brothers with "souls on fire", and they have become national and even international lights on the world scene. (You know that Michael Eric Dyson is from my city).
But alas I've relocated to S.F. where all my lifelong experience of being surrounded by African-American victory and herculean triumph may get a little rusty. Sigh. The Black population in San Fran was only 6% in 2000, and, sadly, a paltry 5% in the 2010 census. (Some are even saying 4%). As you know we have the smallest Black population of any big city in America. All my activism energies for "Black Empowerment" cultivated from my Midwest upbringing have been redirected and channeled into the Occupy Movement---what's left of it!:-( ---and MY PASSION of doing whatever I can to help the cause of inspiring, protecting and healing the lives of gay homeless youth in San Francisco. To me, THIS, the plight of gay homeless young people, will be the "new issue" of San Francisco if we don't turn our attention to this and give it the care, concern and attention it deserves.
But anyway, thanks for the explanation---the reason why white Europeans of the 21st century can't be found non-culpable in the planet's ongoing battle of Anti-Blackness. I'm here at this blog to learn from you and all others who come and so freely and selfishly teach!
You are FAR too kind John, but thank you for the uplifting words. W.E.B. Dubois, Eldridge Cleaver, James Baldwin, Franz Fanon, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm x, Cornell West, Michael Eric Dyson--all spiritual fathers and mentors to me. Trust, like them, I currently use and will continue use to a greater extent in the future, academia, media and my big a** mouth to champion the causes close to my heart. And I'm nothing but an off-shoot of men like THEM and you for you have that same "FIRE." And please don't get me started on feminism, queer theory, the scape goating of Islam, etc....give me an underdog and I will fight his-or her fight! lol
DeleteIn Brazil it is happening the same.
ReplyDeleteHow is it happening in Brazil Daniella?
DeleteSeveral shows on TV has been painting white people to do black characters. It wasn't happening here has more than 20 years and now they are doing that again.
DeleteNice post. I have mentioned it on my blog: http://noblackpete.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/black-pete-bloggers/.
ReplyDeleteAfro-Europe:
http://afroeurope.blogspot.nl/2012/12/will-black-pete-ever-be-replaced-by.html
This blogger points out that there are Black people who are willing to put on black-face to act like Black Pete. It is interesting, because their own Black skin does not make them Black Pete. They have to put on black-face like White Pete, to be able to transform into Black Pete. Does that make them a white Pete when the make-up gets wiped off? If they are getting paid, then they are Sambo. If they do it for free, then... Satan is winning.