Last Sunday the annual theatre parade in Heezer took place on ‘Brabant day’, but this year one float, in particular, caused quite a stir.
The float was apparently meant to represent a church as a ship, and they were on a ‘wave of bibles’ – yet to lots of people it just looked like a lot of people doing black face and standing on what people call ‘the slave ship.’ It also brought back a lot of Zwarte Piet discussions again.
Organisers reaction
The organiser claims that this is not the case at all and the full explanation of what the float meant was written in their brochure. They say that Brabant Day is a day to depict historical events. This particular float was depicting people studying to become missionaries and then spreading the Christian faith in Africa. This is the reason for the “wave of bibles.” Despite this, they admit that didn’t think it would be misinterpreted as a slave ship, and now feel awkward. It won’t happen again.
Of course, it’s clear to see that from the outside, that’s how people would see it. The discussion rages on.
Er is, nog afgezien van de blackfaces, zoveel mis met deze uitbeelding van de stichtelijke werken van de missiepaters uit Boxtel. Alleen al de toelichting in ‘t programmaboekje: “Het bekeren gebeurde op een liefdadige manier…” Het kolonialisme leeft voort op de #Brabantsedag pic.twitter.com/3xFA7biJ84
— Maarten van den Berg (@mhjvandenberg) 29 augustus 2018
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!
