If you live in Belgium or The Netherlands, chances are by the time November rolls around, your eyes are frantically rolling too. It’s the season of the painstakingly maintained ‘Sinterklaas’ and ‘Black Pete’ (or ‘Zwarte Piet’) “tradition” that sparked global debate once more after recent impassioned statements by a bewildered Waka Flocka, Mykki Blanco and Kim K. People of colour in the Lowlands and beyond have long been exclaiming how racist and problematic the practice of this harmful and grotesque, racist, colonialist caricature in blackface, curly wig and red lips is – and have largely been met by deaf ears and shrugged shoulders.

Put simply, we need more white people to speak up.

You don’t even have to really say anything, just wear your opinion on your sleeve, back and chest and get the conversation started in your circle with the new Patta x Parra x Kick Out Zwarte Piet T-shirt, available now via our friends at Lockwood-Avenue Antwerp.

This Patta x Piet Parra drop comes ten years since their first anti-Zwarte Piet tee. Vincent van de Waal's artwork adorns the front while 'Black Face Gets the Gas Face' scripted by Parra (referencing a 3rd Bass song) gets the word out on the back. All proceeds from the sale of these T-shirt go to the Kick Out Zwarte Piet foundation, dedicated to getting The Netherlands on board with banning blackface and informing the rest of the world at the same time.

Sure, a T-shirt alone won’t change the game but it’s a potent signal when worn by true allies and having Lockwood-Avenue put their weight behind it means a lot.

Journalist and former Lockwood-Avenue staffer Jules Bossier was asked by Lockwood-Avenue to write an article for this drop, in which he concluded: “Nobody is asking to erase Sinterklaas completely from the Dutch and Belgian history books. See things through the spirit of time as we’re moving towards 2020. Due to the digital age, we’re so incredibly much more in contact with each other than we were a few decades ago, and this will hopefully expose more difficult areas in the future. It’s up to us to decide how we deal with these sore points. Can we be mature and come together on this, so we can grow as a people? Or do we stick to all the tiny details from past and ancient traditions?”

So, if you’re out in your Patta x Parra x KOZP finery and they hit you with a “I’m not a racist but” and “my kids don’t see colour” or ‘you’re just blowing it out of proportion’, remember this quote by author and activist, the inimitable Dalilla Hermans: “I've tried every possible way and for those who really want to persist in anger, no argument, historical, numerical, logical or emotional, will ever be good enough. A lot of them feel resistant because they get the feeling they’re being accused of racism for something they have always cherished. I tell them this: “It's not about whether you've ever experienced Black Pete as racist. It's about black people and children indicating that this time of the year is one of extra harassment for them.”

I heard it all growing up. Here’s hoping black children born today will have one less thing to worry about tomorrow.

The Patta x Parra x KOZP 2019 t-shirt in both colour ways is now available at Lockwood-Avenue.

Image credits Lockwood-Avenue

Photography: Eileen Vancraenenbroeck

Cast: Team Lockwood-Avenue

Image credits Patta

Photography: Pasqual Amade

Cast: Guillaume, Valentino, Sjeema, Florence, Ray, Tirino, Anoeska, Farida, Vincent, Berano