Venlo and Volendam, long bastions of blackface Zwarte Piet during the Sinterklaas celebrations, have both caved into pressure from anti-racism campaigners to make the switch. The ‘compromise’ – a brown face with sooty stripes – may not meet with the criteria of the action group Kick Out Zwarte Piet but some Volendammers have described the change as ‘ripping off the …
