Two images, taken tonight, Wednesday November 5, in two different cities, show the importance of the debate around Zwarte Piet. The debate is shaking up Dutch society and is in fact touching upon the foundations of Dutch society, of the positions of different groups in The Netherlands, on Dutch history and on the future. The debate is about institutional racism, about the effects of colonial subjugation on Black people, about mutual understanding and the evolution of traditions, about facilitating change and about extreme-right resistance to change. Two images captures two sides to the debate. The first picture was taken in Amsterdam, where at the moment a symposium is taking place organized by the Graduate School of Social Sciences and Amsterdam United. The symposium, called Moving Traditions has the aim to facilitate dialogue and mutual understanding about Zwarte Piet, blackface and institutional racism. (movingtraditions.nl/) One of the speakers is Mireille Fanon-Mendes-France, Chairperson of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent for the United Nations, previously professor at the University Paris V-Descartes in France and a visiting professor at the University of Berkeley in international law and conflict resolution. She has also worked for UNESCO and the French National Assembly. Ms. Fanon-Mendes-France was head of the delegation of UNESCO visiting The Netherlands earlier this year to investigate the position of people of African descent in The Netherlands. She is a daughter of Frantz Fanon, the Martinique-born Afro-French psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and writer whose works are influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory, and Marxism, especially known for writing the influential Black Skin, White Masks, an analysis of the negative psychological effects of colonial subjugation upon Black people. At the same time, in Rotterdam the Grote Zwarte Pietendebat is taking place, organized by newspaper Algemeen Dagblad and foundation LOKAAL. During the evening, spokespersons of the progressive islam-inspired party NIDA and conservative-liberal VVD will debate the evolution of the Zwarte Piet figure. Other speakers include professor Alex van Stipriaan and Rotterdam entrepreneur Anouschka Biekman. (lokaal.org/agenda/het-grote-zwarte-pietendebat) Outside the location, a bar next to the square in front of the Rotterdam central train station, supporters of the blackface figure have taken their position. That is where the second picture was taken. Their banner reads: Our Heritage, Our Future, Our Fight. The people holding the banner are members of Identitair Verzet, an extreme-right action group founded in 2012. Identitair Verzet feels the Dutch language should not be poisoned by other languages, the Dutch economy should not be poisoned by foreign companies and the country in general should not allow immigration. They actively strive towards a fascist regime in The Netherlands and are known for actions that have gotten attention in the media, such as placing a car tire against a statue of Nelson Mandela, as a reference to necklacing (a gruesome execution method under Apartheid). They were present during a support rally for Zwarte Piet in Den Haag (The Hague) in 2013.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 20:00:23 +0000
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