When I left the building of the black archives I was almost shocked about how little I knew about the black history in the Netherlands, even though I graduated with history in my package. Of course I knew the big lines of the stories. But so much is being left out. This actually made me change my vision on black Piet. At first I really thought of it as a children’s party, and I think it still is. So why make it such a big discussion. Right now I’m more understanding about the need to the change. At the same time I think change of culture takes time. Which means that in the meantime it’s still a kid’s party and we need to be aware of that. Don’t let de discussion take over the party. That doesn’t mean end the discussion.

The Black Piet discussion felt really close to me. That’s why it was easy to use as a reflection on this experience. At the same time that wasn’t the only thing. The shocking part was really the (READ: MY) lack of knowledge when it comes to black history. Still processing that at the moment.

Piet

Because my vision on (Black) Piet changed even more after this experience I made my change of looking at Black Piet into a letter written to Sinterklaas. The front of the letter is my personal ‘Perfect Piet.’