Demonstrations against Piets planned for Sinterklaas events in Venlo, Alkmaar

The protest group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) will hold a demonstration on Sunday, 13 November, in Venlo. The protest will not be against the typical blackface Zwarte Piets, but instead against Venlo's interim choice of Grey Piets. The Limburg city is using actors covered in ash-grey makeup and thick, black curly-haired wigs. Grey Piets are a "racist mock solution," said KOZP.

The group is calling on everyone to join the demonstration in Venlo that Sunday. The committee organizing the Sinterklaas arrival in Venlo presented the Grey Piet two years ago, just like in other cities, including Breda, Dordrecht and Leeuwarden. But since then, the latter three cities abandoned Grey Piet.

Venlo is the last city in the Netherlands to stick to a solution that downplays the problem of the racist caricature, said Kick Out Zwarte Piet. KOZP also wants a "visible, impactful change" in Venlo.

The activist group demanded a "clear departure from the blackface tradition and no longer completely painting the face. That is to say, a person without racial and caricatural features. No 'afro' wig, nor red lipstick, nor earrings, nor collar, nor black, brown or grey make-up, and only with a few light smudges."

The day before, on Saturday 12 November, there is a planned protest against Zwarte Piet in Alkmaar, organized by We Promise and Alkmaar Kan Het. There too, according to both organizations, the Sinterklaas arrival committees are sticking with "Piets who are still insulting and hurtful to a lot of people." The protestors reject the organizers' stance that more time is needed to say goodbye to the traditional look of the helpers.

"We don't have the time and patience for racism. You don't scale down racism, you get rid of it," both organizations said on Facebook.