"Not Your Costume" petition against bol.com ended Juneteenth 2021
First, the InterNational AntiRacism Group [INARG] THANKS all signers! We appreciate your support, which came from all over the world!
Our "Not Your Costume" short petition against bol.com ended Juneteenth 2021, which many of you might know, as of this year, is now recognized as a federal holiday in the usa! Here some information regarding it; https://www.colorlines.com/articles/who-stands-profit-juneteenth-videoutm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR1
Below, is the correspondence INARG sent with your signatures to; bol.com' Public Relations and also to Manager of Corporate Affairs/Communications and their 'parent company' Ahold Delhaize, Ethics, as well as Media Relations.
INARG will inform you here if we receive any reply. If you would like to be placed on INARG's mailing list (we do not "share" or "sell" our mailing list) to receive information about our campaigns and public events send your 1st & last name and email to us at; internationalantiracismgroup@gmail.com
We wish you well further and hope you continue to act against racism anywhere, in any form, and have the support you need to do so. We of course also hope there will come a time when these efforts against racism will no longer be needed.
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DIVEST FROM RACISM [ I N A R G ] INVEST IN A NON-RACIST WORLD
Since 2014 the InterNational AntiRacism Group [INARG] is educators, artists, writers, musicians, activists, parents, and grandparents working, to stop use of the racist character, blackfaced 'Zwarte Piet/ZP/Black Pete in the Netherlands, and to stop the promotion of racism anywhere. INARG’ efforts, thus far, include stopping the promotion of racism by “Sesamstraat”/Sesame Street Workshop Corporation, Nickelodeon/Viacom, and North Sea Jazz Festival, among others.
Since 2019 INARG has contacted bol(dot)com urging you to; stop allowing the sale of zwarte piet/ZP/black pete and other racist items, to stop promoting these racist items, and regarding your lack of representation of BIPOC in "decision making" positions in your organization.
Others complained for years including INARG regarding your offerings of racist items and "Federatief Joods Nederland" took legal action in the form of a filed complaint in 2020 against your promotion and sales of an antisemitic book (“Der Giftpilz /The Poisonous Mushroom” written by Nazi supporter Julius Streicher, which was used as evidence against him during the Neurenberg trials, at which he was sentenced to death for his crimes against humanity, which also did not stop bol(dot)com from offering this heinous book).
Only due to the complaints and the legal action taken against you, did then in 2020 bol(dot)com announce it would no longer sell any products featuring blackface, or the Dutch racist blackface figure ZP, or anti-Jewish items.
While anti-Jewish, ZP, and other blackface depictions/items were removed, bol(dot)com continues to offer racist items targeting those of Indigenous and African diasporas. You also continue to promote and offer for sale ZP character items and other items with wigs meant to imitate ‘black hair’ and/or black stockings, gloves meant to represent ‘black skin’.
INARG, in addition to these more then 250 signatories below, from all over the world to our petition “Not Your Costume” against your sale and promotion of racist items, are asking you and your parent company Ahold Delhaize N.V., to stop sale and promotion of all racist items by bol(dot)com.
INARG and signatories hope that bol(dot)com will finally stop promotion of racism, and become the organization you claim where “everyone is welcome” and actually stop sales and promotions of all racist items.
We hope shortly to receive your reply.
Sincerely,
Gloria Holwerda, InterNational AntiRacism Group [INARG] and Signatories;