Kick Out Zwarte Piet will no longer protest at Sinterklaas arrival parties

Following several demonstrations last week against the racist depiction of Black Piet on Sinterklaas, the Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) action group has announced that it will no longer be demonstrating at the new Sinterklaas parades this year. According to KOZP, almost 30 municipalities have now agreed to make their parades more inclusive, NOS reports.

Throughout November, KOZP contacted many Dutch municipalities and sent letters in which they sharply criticized the costumes of past Zwarte Piets. For example, according to the action group, the Piets still have too many sooty feathers in addition to the blackfacing. “This makes them almost indistinguishable from Zwarte Piets and many municipalities are following this bad example.”

This must have apparently set something in motion, as according to the action group, a total of 28 municipalities have agreed to take a “massive step towards an inclusive Sinterklaas parade".

However, KOZP does not disclose which locations are involved. Otherwise, the local committees responsible for the Sinterklaas arrivals could face harassment from supporters of the Zwarte Piets, NOS reports.

Last weekend, four people were arrested during the Sinterklaas arrival in Yerseke due to disturbances surrounding a protest by the activist group Kick Out Zwarte Piet. The protest, which involved about 20 activists opposing the inclusion of fully blackface-painted Zwarte Piet characters, drew significant backlash.