Is The Netherlands' "Black Pete" racist?

I once heard a joke that went something like this: when the world is coming to an end, move to the Netherlands because everything happens there 50 years later. A bit harsh, I thought, after all, the Dutch are a relatively progressive people with much to recommend them: from the high level of volunteering and Amnesty International membership relative to other European countries to their pragmatism and absence of hysteria around subjects like cannabis, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasi…