Zwart als Roet plot
Sunny Bergman analyzes the debate surrounding the racist content of Zwarte Piet. Although the discussion has been going on for years around the approach of the Dutch Sinterklaas party, it reached an unprecedented emotional fierceness in the autumn of 2013. Is Zwarte Piet, assistant to the generous child friend Sinterklaas, an insulting stereotype with roots in the colonial past or an innocent tradition that should not be tampered with? In a personal quest, Bergman maps unconscious prejudices, daily racism and the legacy of the Dutch colonial past. She goes to London dressed as Zwarte Piet, where her appearance provokes fierce reactions. But she also looks closer to home: for example, she conducts personal conversations with friends and exposes the phenomenon of “white privilege” in her own environment.