“Many people stopped then. They did not want to be cannon fodder”: after 15 years of struggle against the slave symbolism of Zwarte Piet, Jerry Afriyie also quits

Take a good look at the Piets when Sinterklaas makes his festive arrival in Antwerp. You will no longer see pitch-black faces, no thick lips, no large gold earrings. That was the work of one man: Jerry Afriyie (44). The Dutchman fought against the slave symbolism of Zwarte Piet for fifteen years, with threats and great sacrifices for himself, but also with success. And now, right on the arrival of the Good Saint from Spain, Afriyie announces that he is quitting his fight. “If you can change Zwarte Piet, you can change everything.”

ttn-3