Aruba bans blackface makeup during annual Dutch celebration
Posted June 23, 2020 9:33 am.
Last Updated June 23, 2020 9:34 am.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba will ban the blackface makeup worn every December during Sinterklaas, a celebration of St. Nicholas in which white people often dress up as a children’s character called “Black Pete.”
Culture Minister Xiomara Maduro said in a Facebook post on Monday that she doesn’t want to encourage a celebration that would offend people. She called on participants to use multicolour paint or none at all.
“Not every problem has been resolved, but this is a first step,” she wrote.
Jerry Afriyie, a prominent Dutch Black activist, has long been calling for the eradication of the children’s character.
The Associated Press
