As the townsfolk of Ath, Belgium, cheered the arrival of “the savage,” a lead protagonist in the annual Ducasse d’Ath festival held in Belgium this past weekend, anti-racism advocates denounced the beloved blackface character and his racist get-up.
“This character has all the degrading attributes that black people are given in the racist imagery of our societies,” Mouhad Reghif, a spokesman for the Brussels Panthers told Reuters on Sunday. “It’s totally racist and maintains a degrading image of the Black person — which has consequences in every day life.”
The folk festival, which traces its roots back to the 15th century and is recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage, is held every August in the small Belgian town, according to the outlet.
The so-called “savage” typically makes its appearance during the effigy parade, in which a white man slathered in black body paint from head to toe with chains dangling from his ankles and wrists hops around yelling incomprehensible sounds and runs around spooking young children.
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