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speeding_snail · 4153 days ago · link · · parent · post: Is it racist that Santa Claus has a black servant? Is it racist to portray him in black face? Yeah, duh.
I don't think we could get enough black people together in every city/town to play black Pete. Sinterklaas has many Petes and the Netherlands don't have as much blacks as you might think. As for the status symbol, I think might have to do with slavery. In the time that Black Pete was first introduced (1850), slavery and racism were still common. However, first there was only one Pete and he was a timid black boy, not the stereotype. In time this changed to what we see now. It was worse, because there used to be golden earrings and a wig with frizzy hair. We will never know why the author of the book introduced Black Pete, but the status symbol becomes quite apparent when you try too look at it with the ideas of that time.