"My father played Sinterklaas, so it was normal that I ... And all the kids want to dress up and play Pete, whether they're black or white." But others, like Raimund Larat, 23, who is black ...

ADVERTISEMENT “I think the whole Sinterklaas thing, not only Zwarte Piet, has a very racist connotation,” Maclean says. “Here’s a white guy on a white horse with the black helpers coming ...

think about Black Piets. Later, I’m encouraged to hear that a few weeks ago when Sinterklaas sailed into Amsterdam with 600 Piets, some had white faces. Will there be more in 2008 on Nov. 16 ...

or Black Pete, Sinterklaas’ helper, who many see as a racist stereotype. While Sinterklaas, portrayed as an elderly white man, arrives by ship and rides a white horse through parades across the ...

The holiday has recently come under scrutiny, as Sinterklaas is assisted by Zwarte Piet or “Black Pete,” a character first appearing ... However, the tradition is still insanely offensive, as ...

At the heart of the discussion is “Black Pete,” Sinterklaas’ helper who is often played by white people in blackface makeup and Afro wigs. Opponents see him as an outdated and offensive ...

An Amsterdam Public Library employee with a book about Sinterklaas and ... uncommon in a country where white families still talk with unashamed disdain of ‘Black schools’ when referring ...

In Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas has a “helper” named Zwarte Piet, or “Black Pete,” who usually ... towns host parades featuring hundreds of white people dressed as Piet.