Primary Schools and the Critique of Black Pete in the Netherlands

What is it about?

Nations and organisations sometimes have to deal with the accusation that an element of their tradition or functioning is in fact racist. Detailing the case of the Sinterklaas children's festival in the Netherlands, which famously includes a blackface figure, we show that responses to anti-racist criticism can evade the issue of racism by simply claiming to accomodate the irrational feelings of racial others out of respect for multicultural diversity. We illustrate this based on a multi-method study of Dutch primary schools, where the festival is celebrated annually.

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