Video: a closer look at the Zwarte Piet ruling

In this conversation activists Ramona Sno, Patricia Schor and Egbert Alejandro Martina break down the court’s reasoning and analyze what it says about the way race, racism and the role of the State are understood by the White, Dutch elite. They also speak on the limits of fighting against racism and blackface in particular in a court of law, where the laws themselves negate the realities of white supremacy and racism is framed in terms of a private matter and hurt feelings. Sno, Schor and Martina also discuss what this moment means in the public debate on institutional racism, the dynamics of cooptation and the role this ruling plays in maintaining the larger Dutch narrative of white, Dutch benevolence vis a vis post-colonial communities.

Hodan Warsame over de video: A closer look at the Zwarte Piet Ruling (YouTube)