Black Archives building vandalized in Amsterdam
The Amsterdam building of The Black Archives, an organization for building knowledge about the history of black people, was vandalized, co-founder Mitchell Esajas said in parliament on Thursday during a committee meeting on discrimination, ANP reports.
The building is decorated with the faces of important figures from black history. The vandals painted white paint on their faces and left stickers on the building with texts like 'chimney Piet is genocide', Esajas said. Chimney Piet is the non-blackface alternative often used for Sinterklaas character Zwarte Piet.
D66 parliamentarian Jan Paternotte, who is on the Home Affairs committee that was discussing discrimination on Thursday, said that this vandalism again shows that racism is a major problem in the Netherlands.
Terwijl Mitchell Esajas woord voert in de Tweede Kamer wordt pand van zijn Black Archives besmeurd door idioten die beelden van zwarte voorvechters tegen racisme wit kladden. Met kippenvel blijft hij antwoord geven op vragen.
— Jan Paternotte (@jpaternotte) December 3, 2020
Racisme ís een groot probleem. Dit bewijst het weer. pic.twitter.com/oFAFosTm90