Protests over the killing of George Floyd have revived calls to take down symbols of colonial oppression that have long been controversial and tackle the persistent discrimination and racism in several European nations, including the U.K., Germany, France and Spain. Across Europe, statues have been defaced, street names questioned and historic pageants pilloried on an exceptional scale.
In Belgium, which controlled and exploited the Congo for decades, calls are increasing to remove statues of King Leopold II, who established the colony as his personal territory in the 1880s and was responsible for the death and mutilation of millions of people there.
In the Netherlands, an early colonial power whose trading companies were instrumental in carrying African slaves to America for more than two centuries, the prime minister has acknowledged racism as a problem following massive antiracism demonstrations. “It’s not just an American phenomenon,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. “It’s also a Dutch problem. There is racism here, too. There is discrimination here, too.”
Mr. Rutte on Thursday abandoned his yearslong support for the traditional Dutch Christmastime character known as Black Pete. The mischievous sidekick to Santa Claus, clad in a Renaissance-era costume, is usually portrayed by a white boy in blackface, curly black wig, red lipstick and big golden earrings—a costume reminiscent of the slave trade.
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