Triggered by INEG/AL, MPF Recommends to the Alagoas Government that Prioritize Vaccination of Quilombolas.
Although Quilombola Communities constitute a priority segment in the National Plan for the Operationalization of Vaccination Against COVID-19, the State of Alagoas Government , in its State Vaccination Plan, did not mention such a segment. In addition to the National Plan mentioning Quilombolas communities as a priority segment, the State of Alagoas was in breach of Article 2 of Law 14.021 / 2020 that characterizes Quilombolas as a segment that is in a condition of extreme socioeconomic vulnerability. Beyond, the State Government (SEPLAG), in 2015, published a study on Quilombola populations in Alagoas, in which it finds such social vulnerability. Realizing the total and complete neglect of the State Government of Alagoas towards the Quilombolas, the Negro Institute of Alagoas called the Federal Public Ministry, which promptly issued a Recommendation to the State Government, requesting that it proceed “immediately ” with the vaccination of our Quilombolas.
INEG / AL Presents Demands to Parliamentarians of Maceió
In order to strengthen the demands of the black population with the municipal legislative house, the Negro Institute of Alagoas met with Teca Nelma, councilor for Maceió, to present a set of actions to be debated in the Municipal Legislative House of the Alagoas Capital. Among these actions, we highlight the urgent need for the municipal public administration to institute the racial quota system in their public tenders. In this way, in the coming days, INEG/AL will present a bill on the subject, which should be debated in the Chamber, as well as in all society in Maceió. In Alagoas, only the municipalities of Delmiro Gouveia and Pilar adopted the reservation of vacancies for blacks in their latest public tenders.
Available mesures were also discussed at the meeting regarding the resumption of the original denomination of Praça Dandara de Palmares, recently attacked by the local legislative power, which, in a racist way, tries to replace the name of our black heroine with the name of a Catholic saint. In the course of the meeting, the councilor pledged to support our claim.
The need for the creation of a fund for racial equity was also highlighted by the councilwoman’s team, as well as the urgent need for the constitution of the municipal council for racial equality, an important instrument for strengthening the affairs of the black population at the municipal level.
Our goal is to continue the dialogue with municipal and state parliamentarians, aiming at improving the quality of life of the black population of Alagoas.
INEG/AL Racial Advocacy Group Visits Afro-Brazilian Religious Houses
Last Saturday – as part of the actions defined by INEG/AL for 2021 – our Racial Advocacy Group visited two religious houses of African origin, located at Conjunto Jarbas Oiticica and Cruzeiro do Sul, respectively Ilê Egbé Àfosókè Atílehim Vodun Aziri and Ilé Nifé Omo Nigér Eji Iná, led by Babalorixá Alisson and Yalorixá Nailza. On the agenda, the mutual strengthening of black organizations / entities to face the daily challenges posed to our people. In both meetings, political and administrative issues were discussed, which are fundamental for the full development of the religious houses’ activities. After demands has being presented by the religious leaders, our Group was promptly willing to contribute to the resolution of the questions raised. In addition, the need to develop partnership was also discussed, in order to, for instance, holding training sessions for the religious community, approching the legal aspects for the full exercise of citizenship. In this way, the Racial Advocacy Group of INEG / AL has played a fundamental role in the process of strengthening black entities in the state.
Are you a lawyer and want to contribute to the promotion of the rights of the black population in an engaged way? Join us! Contact!
INEG/AL Will Be Supported to Brazil Human Rights Fund
In 2021 the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL) will have the technical and financial support of the Brazil Human Rights Fund, to strengthen its actions in the field of promoting the rights of the black population of Alagoas. The Brazil Human Rights Fund is a national initiative that aims to raise funds for Brazilian civil society organizations that work within the scope of promoting the rights of historically discriminated people, among others. Founded in 2006, the FBDH has supported national initiatives ranging from actions in the field of strategic litigation to actions aimed at protecting activists threatened with death for their actions to fight social inequalities. The most recent proposal to support from FBDH, in which INEG / AL is on it, entitled Facing Racism from the Base: institutional strengthening and mobilization for the defense of rights, aims at the institutional strengthening of black Brazilian organizations through technical -financial support to the actions that they already develop, as well as the routine expenses of the organizations. Among the actions defined by INEG / AL to receive support from the Fund, we highlight the strengthening of our Racial Advocacy Center. The Fund’s initiative is supported by the Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation and Ibirapitanga.
In addition to the Negro Institute of Alagoas, twenty other black organizations from across the country will be supported from the Fund, such as the Association of Black Women of Acre (AC), Bamidelê – Organization of Black Women of Paraíba (PB), Women’s Collective Negras de Cáceres (MT), National Forum on Transvestites and Transsexuals – FONATRANS (PI), among others.
Instituto do Negro de Alagoas thanks the Brazil Human Rights Fund for recognizing the role we have played in improving the quality of life of the black population in Alagoas.
For more information about the Brazil Human Rights Fund, visit http://fundobrasil.org.br
Fired by INEG/AL, MP questions Mayor and Legislative Chamber about name change of Praça Dandara de Palmares
Faced with explicit and distinct histories of attempts to erase local black history, INEG/AL comes to denounce another arbitrariness of the government. This time, against our symbols and memory spaces. On the last day (5) the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas filed a complaint with the 66th Prosecutor’s Office in the person of the Prosecutor Jorge José Tavares Dória due to law proposal No. 168/2019, which resulted in the replacement of the name of Praça Dandara dos Palmares, located in the Jatiúca neighborhood, by the name of Nossa Senhora de Rosa Mística Square. The change in title that obtained a favorable opinion from the Municipal Legislative Chamber took place without public consultation, prior notice and discussions with local black movements. Among the various controversies surrounding this action, we highlight the date of its inauguration, which took place on December 3, 2019, three months before the final opinion published by the Official Diary of the Municipality on March 19, 2020. In the festivities of the inauguration, it is observed in the statement by councilwoman Silvânia Barbosa that the space, previously intended to honor the black community of the state, suffered from the inattention of the bodies responsible for the public patrimony of the city. This is because, at the time of the renaming procedure, the square underwent revitalization. In an interview Silvânia reports “The residents here waited for a long 40 years and today we can see that this is already a space that brings families back together and is no longer a dark, dangerous place”. The speech of that councilwoman emphasizes neglect of space as ‘Dandara dos Palmares’.
Maceió’s Mayor seems to forget, or even not to care about the careless manner that treats its heroes, since in the House Bill Project (PCL) 55/2017, Dandara was inscribed in the book of the heroes of the motherland. Historical heritage, whether it is represented in the materiality of its monuments, in the spatiality of its squares, or even, in the historical symbolism evoked by our black heroes and heroines, has the obligation to assist in a more just social construction. The renaming of the space, as it was done, is an affront to the emblematic representation of one of the most significant leaders of Quilombo dos Palmares. Symbol of a struggle that lasts until today. In a document sent to the Municipal Culture Foundation, the Municipal Secretariat of Tourism and the Municipal Legislative Chamber of Maceió, the Public Ministry asks for explanations about the change of the name of Praça Dandara Palmares to Praça Rosa Mística. Public Prosecutor advises that the old denomination of public equipment must be restored.
Ineg/AL repudiates the action and demands the resumption of its original name.
UFAL Institute of Psychology Approves Letter of Commitment for an Anti-Racist University
On September 30, 2020, the Institute of Psychology at UFAL approved a document in which it undertakes to promote issues related to black and indigenous populations within the scope of its actions and activities. Among the proposed actions, we highlight the commitment of the Institute of Psychology to create compulsory subject that deals with psychology and ethnic-racial relations, insofar as it recognizes the need and urgency of approaches that deal with the populations mentioned above in thinking and doing psychological. Let’s see what the Letter says:
“The presence of a compusory subject concerned with thinking, discussing and problematizing the historical processes that culminated in the marginalization and subordination of the black and indigenous population is necessary, especially in view of the current political context, a context that insists on further denying rights that should be basic (work, housing, health and education). Understanding the discursive effects that act as effective mechanisms for the social exclusion of black and indigenous people is necessary to think about the construction of an effectively anti-racist science / profession. ”
In addition to the commitment to the implementation of affirmative actions already existing within the University and also in its expansion, the Institute also recognizes the improper application of Law 12.990 / 2014 by UFAL and will endeavor for the institution to replace the vacancies lost in past public notices. , which add up to 88 (eighty-eight) places for black professors, as stated in the Letter:
“Thus, since 2014, the university has disregarded the law, which resulted in the loss of 88 professors jobs vacancies that were not made available to black community. In this sense, considering the need to put in place an inclusion policy, necessary for the minimization of racial inequalities and the radicalization of democracy, the IP supports the fight to replace lost professors jobs vacancies, gradually increasing the number of vacancies for black people, in future public contests for both technicians and professors of our institution. ”
Among other issues, the document is also committed to “Developing strategies to meet the demand for ethnic-racial issues in the Applied Psychology Service (SPA)”. The Negro Institute of Alagoas salute and congratulate the Institute of Psychology at UFAL for their commitment to the cause of the black people in Alagoas.
Strengthening Black Organizations!
Strengthening black organizations in the state of Alagoas is a pivotal task for the maintenance and conquest of rights for our people. It is with this objective in mind that the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas, through its Racial Advocacy Group, comes to the public to make itself available to black organizations of the most varied natures, in order to contribute to the resolution of legal problems and, in this way, enable the full performance of our sisters. Assistance will be provided in an engaged manner and, as such, with no cost to organizations.
We are Against the Militarization of the Maceió’s Municipal Guard!
Last Wednesday (09), Governor Renan Filho signed an arms donation term for the Municipal Guard of Maceió. One hundred and fifty-one revolvers were donated to intensify repression against male and female workers.
What the government and the mayor call the restructuring of the Municipal Guards we understand as a continuous process of militarization with very well-defined targets: black bodies, especially informal workers who occupy the center of Maceió.
The Negro Institute of Alagoas, understand that the deepening of extermination and the implementation of incarceration has been a political project of the State government in conjunction with the Mayor of Maceió. It is necessary to rebuild a new conception of public security. In the most dangerous state to be black in Brazil, it is the duty of the government to guarantee minimum conditions of existence for most of the population.
We defend a humanized municipal guard, which focuses on prevention and dialogue, not reinforcement of arms. We cannot accept that in the pandemic context, and in any other context.
Strengthen Black Organizations!
The challenges posed to black and peripheral populations are longstanding. Subtracted from our dignity as human beings, inserted in a system that constituted us as a race and under this sign has perpetrated the cruelest destiny ever imagined, once again we are called to find a better way. Having been built under the weight of historical oppression over black bodies, which is now being reproduced, Maceió has been the scene of uninterrupted persecution of its black and peripheral population, sabotaging all initiatives that represent its autonomy in defining its own destiny . We can no longer allow them to undermine our autonomy. Although aware of the limitations of white-bourgeois-Brazilian democracy, we understand that the electoral space is a privileged place to signal to our brothers and sisters that there is a possible way out, which is our organization on all fronts that are necessary. The Negro Institute of Alagoas – INEG / AL invite everyone to join us in building a political project that at that moment is expressed in the collective construction of the Black Bench (@bancadanegra). Place for collective discussion and proposition of policies for socioeconomic promotion of the black and peripheral population of Maceió. Let’s do Palmares Again !!
“The Place of Race in Affirmative Action’s Age”
The emergence of new policies to promote the black population, almost invariably, bring back old ghosts within the scope of the debate regarding our race relations. Contrary to what we might think, old conceptions continue to roam the spectrum of race among us. Whether in the sphere of public policies, or even on the debate about black movements and their forms of political organization, the black population is subject to a series of attacks that only prove that the debate is still far from being concluded. Aiming to contribute with this discussion, the Negro Institute of Alagoas has published some writings in order to clarify or “blacken” what is set as a challenge to be overcome. In this way, we present our newest article, entitled The Place of Race in Affirmative Action’s Age, which was published as a result of the II Colloquium Interdisciplinary Dialogues on gender, race and sexuality: bodies in alliance, conducted by the Study and Research Group in History, Gender and Sexuality (GEPGHS / UFAL), in May 2019.
To access our article, in addition to others also presented at the Colloquium, go to the “Publications and Articles” tab of our page and access it for free! Good reading!
INEG/AL Request UFAL Investigating Fraud Denounces to Racial Quotas
The Negro Institute of Alagoas (INEG/AL) sent a letter to Federal University of Alagoas Dean, Dr. Josealdo Tonholo, on the 15th of June, so that reports of fraud in racial quotas are severely investigated. At the beginning of the month, through a twitter profile called “Fraudadores de Cotas Alagoas”, several cases of alleged racial quota fraud by students from the Federal University of Alagoas were reported. This profile received at least 20 complaints from white people who declared themselves as black and brown and took advantage of the reserve of places destined for them to be part of the UFAL student body.
In view of the seriousness of the fact, INEG/AL requested the immediate investigation of the cases denounced, submitting them – in the affirmative case of admission of the student denounced through racial quotas – to the self-declaration validation benches, already active in the University since 2019. The verification of the student’s phenotype by the heteroidentification boards, already existing at the University, is the best criterion for confirming that such student has entered the university banks in the correct way, removing any evidence of fraud. Otherwise, the fraudulent student must have his enrollment canceled, as he does not live up to the criteria for admission to the University.
Pedro Gomes, a member of the Group for Racial Advocacy at INEG/ AL, says that students who enter the university student body through racial quotas fraudulently, once such fraud is attested, in addition to being expelled from the University, can also respond to lawsuits civil for the damage caused, and even criminal prosecution, for the crime of misrepresentation.
After sending an official letter, INEG/AL awaits the official position of Ufal regarding the fact, and reminds the Dean that a University built in the state of Zumbi dos Palmares cannot be inert to such a great affront.
Partnership Between INEG/AL, Afro Dendê and Banco do Brasil Foundation Ensures Purchase and Distribution of Staple Package Products
In order to deal with the plight of increased social vulnerability experienced by the black population in the peripheral neighborhoods of the upper part of the capital of Alagoas, which results from the economic consequences of the pandemic of COVID-19, the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas, the Associação Cultural Sorridente – which has Banda Afro Dendê as its main operating arm – and the Banco do Brasil Foundation established a partnership for the purchase and distribution of staple package products and cleaning kits. The distribution is focused on the Conjunto Sorriso Sorriso, located in the Benedito Bentes neighborhood. Realizing the need to expand such action, contact was sought with other black leaders from the upper part of the city, such as Mãe Vera, responsible for the African religious house Abassá de Angola, located in the neighborhood of Eustáquio Gomes, with whom staple package products and cleaning kits were shared. Altogether, more than ten tons of food and cleaning items were purchased.
INEG/AL Claims Color/Race Item in COVID-19 Epidemiological Bulletins
The definition of the color / race item in official documents, as well as its disclosure by public authorities (federal, state and municipal) and other public and private institutions, is a pivotal measure for obtaining a diagnosis and subsequent adoption of public policies aimed at overcoming racial inequalities and promoting historically discriminated population segments.
Noting no reference to the “color / race” factor in the epidemiological bulletins of COVID-19 published by the State Department of Health, as well as by the Municipal Health Department of Maceió, the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas not only addressed the respective Secretariats requesting the inclusion of this factor, as well as the Public Prosecutor of Alagoas, in the person of the Prosecutor Antônio Jorge Sodré V. de Souza, responsible for the 61st Prosecutor’s Office of the Capital, aiming to create an Administrative Procedure to resolve the problem, which was promptly attended by the eminent Prosecutor, who has already issued a recommendation to the Mayor and the State Government.
The public administration of Alagoas needs to respect the black population! We are attentive!
Access here the administrative procedure and the recommendation made by the State Public Ministry.
INEG triggers Public Ministry and prevents eviction of Terreiros in Maceió
Last Friday (17), the Otacílio de Holanda and Portelinha communities, located in the Cidade Universitária neighborhood, were surprised by an eviction order. Issued by the Municipal Secretariat for Community Security and Social Living (Semscs), the order established a period of 10 days for local residents to leave their homes and establishments. Despite the deadline, the last Sunday (19) was marked by the demolition of housing in the community, which generated outrage and revolt in the population. About two thousand residents of the region, mostly black, were threatened with losing the safety of their homes. Aiming at guaranteeing the right to housing for the community and, in particular, for the Terreiros and religious houses of African origin, the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas called the State Prosecutor’s Office, in the person of the Prosecutor Jorge Dórea, in order to cancel the eviction order, which has been achieved. Now, we need to organize ourselves so that this policy does not have continuity. It is unacceptable that in a time of pandemic, the Mayor of Maceió criminally displaced the population of that community. We remain vigilant and attentive to racist like this!
INEG/AL Will Develop Actions to Promote the Black Population in Partnership with UNDP
Instituto do Negro de Alagoas, in its project entitled “Racism Looked at the Top: building anti-racist practices in the institutional field”, will promote a series of actions aimed at dialoguing with state public servants about racism and its harmful effects as a constituent part of their daily practices, as well as in the definition of public policies that historically have neglected the specific problems of the black population in the state. Among the activities, we highlight the holding of a training course, which will deal with the history of the black population, affirmative action policies and the legal aspects of the rights of this population.
In addition to the course, the creation of an Observatory for Institutional Racism will also be proposed, which will be responsible for institutional monitoring of institutional practices and policies within the public sector, with an interest in their racial aspect. The Project goal is also to obtain a diagnosis of the institutional culture of the State Secretariats, aiming at obtaining an institutional framework of how racism presents itself in the most varied spheres of the state public power.
Three Thematic Seminars will be held in order to promote the debate on our race relations in order to involve the entire Alagoas community in the propositional effort to build positive practices for the black population.
With the actions developed in this initiative, the Negro Institute of Alagoas also intends to strengthen its political agenda with the State Secretariats of Alagoas, in order to achieve concrete results in the promotion of the black population.
The actions developed in the Project will receive technical / financial support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Seminar: Religiosity as Resistance
In the Black Consciousness month is essential to highlight one of the main forms of survival and wisdom of our people: religion. For this reason, the Alagoas Negro Institute, the UFAL Black People Association (ANU) and the Regional Council of Social Work (CRESS-AL) will hold the Asè Seminar: Religiosity as Resistance. The event will take place from 19h on 27/11, in the Auditorium of the Education Center (CEDU), at the Federal University of Alagoas. The panel will be attended by Mãe Vera, Iyalorixá of Terreiro Abassa de Angola, recognized in the community for her community work, and Iyalorixá Winnie Bueno, Bachelor of Law (UFPEL) and PhD student in Sociology (UFRGS), creator of the #TinderDosLivros Project . The event is open to everyone. We’ll be waiting for all of you!
9th International Book Biennial of Alagoas
On November 10 and 11, 2019, the Black Institute of Alagoas participated in two rounds of talks at the 9th International Book Biennial of Alagoas, held in the Jaraguá, neighborhood of Maceió. Our participation took place in two moments of many reflections and debates that contributed to the enrichment of the political debate at the event.
The first round of conversation dealt with social struggles in times of authoritarianism. Conversation was attended as well by a representative of the Pastoral Land Commission, among others. The second conversation was on Affirmative Action Policies. We present our understanding of social reality and the struggles that the black population faces in daily life. We also reaffirm the importance of affirmative policies in the process of socioeconomic growth of the Brazilian black population, as well as the difficulties of its implementation in public institutions. Finally, we present the projects and perspectives of the Black Institute of Alagoas regarding its action in the fight against racism in the state.
INEG / AL Submits Proposals for the Alagoas Black Population to the Secretariat of Women and Human Rights
The Negro Institute of Alagoas attended a meeting with representatives of the Secretariat of Women and Human Rights in Alagoas (Semudh). The meeting was motivated by the project being developed by the Secretariat entitled ‘Black Youth: Lives Matter’. At the time, proposals for intervention were presented for the situation of the black population of Alagoas, as well as measures aimed at the economic and social promotion of this community.
Understanding Semudh as an instrument of dialogue and articulation between the other secretariats and the State Government, INEG presented a series of proposals that may be developed by management in partnership with the Institute. The black population is a victim of disregard for public policies designed specifically for this segment. Inthis way, INEG seeks to focus its action, pressing and presenting ways to combat this abandonment.
The proposals presented by the Institute mark a special concern with the educational and academic background of the black population of Alagoas. Therefore, was presented the necessity of the discussion about the application of the policy of racial quotas in the selective processes of the State Universities (UNEAL and UNCISAL) and in the public tender of the State and the municipalities. With a view to countering the growing dropout rate among black high school teens, the Institute has proposed a plan to accompany these students and create a scholarship program for black students.
The Institute also proposed the creation of a Master and Doctorate scholarship program for blacks and indigenous people by the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Alagoas (FAPEAL).
In addition to these, other proposals, such as the creation of a state plan to combat institutional racism, were brought during the meeting with the Secretariat. Deal with black issues means trying to transform the economic reality of this population as much as possible, instituting, for example, a program of loan without bank interest or with derisory interest for the black population of Alagoas, an idea also proposed by the Institute.
The plight of the black population in Alagoas is not yet seriously debated, we are still one of the states that most kills young black people in the slums. The Government needs to take responsibility for these lives and have a management plan that seeks to reduce inequalities and provide new prospects for the future other than crime, the prison system or death.
INEG / AL Finished I Cycle of Debates on Blackness and Racism in Alagoas
The Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL) finished last Saturday (31) the first round of Black Head debates. The activity brought discussions about the situation of the black population of Alagoas from research conducted by black scholars of the state. The event took place in the auditorium of the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Patrimony (IPHAN) and began on the second Saturday of August and extended on the following saturdays.
Aiming to update the debate on black issues in Alagoas, the first edition of “Cabeça Preta” brought, at each meeting, a discussion topic related to the occupation of black bodies in the city. In order to highlight academic productions of black intellectuals of the state, each Saturday was attended by different researchers, presenting their studies and sharing the accumulated knowledge with the community.
The two saturdays, at the beginning, brought as theme: “Memories and Negritudes in Alagoas”, “Surveillance of Black Bodies and Institutional Racism and its Tactics in Public Security”. The third saturday brought the discussion on “Education, Ethnic-Racial Relations and Affirmative Policies in Alagoas”. The cycle ended with the debate on “Gender, Performances, Representations and the Fighting of Black Bodies in Cities”.
New editions of “Cabeça Preta” are being prepared to continue the cycle of debate that opened this year. The constant realization of these spaces seeks to introduce a perspective that starts from black intellectuals in the discussion about the racial issue in Alagoas, highlighting black people, not as object of study, but as producers of knowledge.
INEG / AL and MPF Guarantees Law Enforcement 12.990 / 2014 at UFAL
On August 14, 2019, the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas met with the Federal University of Alagoas, with the mediation of the Federal Public Prosecutor, aiming at the proper application of Law 12.990 / 2014, which recommends the reservation of vacancies for black people (black and brown) in federal public tenders. Since the enactment of Law, UFAL has been improperly applying the vacancy reserve. After dialogue with the University’s superior administration and with the MPF itself to deal with the edict number 46 (in effect), which aims to provide vacancies for teachers of the higher teaching, INEG / AL, with the support of the MPF, managed to guarantee the number of five vacancies for quota holders. Originally the notice did not have any vacancy for racial quotas.
In a survey of past edicts, published from the enactment of Law 12.990 / 2014, INEG / AL reached the amount of 88 (eighty-eight) vacancies that were no longer offered to black candidates in professor tenders. In other words, the Federal University of Alagoas no longer includes eighty-eight black professors in its teaching staff. Such damage must not only be measured from a numerical point of view, but also, and above all, from the damage caused to scientific production related to black population issues! Even though we have won a victory in the adaptation of the edict nº 46 (and the future edicts) to the Law 12.990 / 2014, our claim has not been fully answered, since the University is still being questioned by the MPF about how it intends to remedy the loss of vacancies in the previous edicts. Let’s keep pushing!
INEG/AL Interact with UFAL and the Federal Public Ministry on Bad Application of the Racial Quotas Law in the University’s Public Tenders.
Law 12.990 / 2014 deals with the reserve of vacancies for blacks in federal administration’s public tender. Such reserve (quotas), is defined in the law as 20% (twenty percent) for each position in public notice. When we look at the public notice of the Federal University of Alagoas, especially those referring to the selection of professors, we realize that since the Law’s promulgation, University is not fulfilling what it advocates, inasmuch as, instead of the University to consider the position of Professor of the Higher Magisterium as a position in itself, regardless of the specialty or area of study, it considers each area of study to be a specific position and, as such, has been applying the quota law in each area of study rather than applying it to the total number of vacancies offered for the position of professor, independent of the specialty. The consequence of such an interpretation is that the Federal University of Alagoas no longer admitted within its board of teachers about 90 (ninety) black professors, according to our survey, since the enactment in 2014. Other federal universities have adopted a variety of ways to comply with Law 12.990 / 2014, such as the drawing of a lottery to determine which vacancies in a given public tender will be allocated to racial quotas, or even by franking the entry by quotas in all areas offered, contemplating the highest notes among the quotaholders, respecting the amount defined by law.
Another mistake – which has resulted in a demage to the black population – by UFAL, has been the public tenders for the technical-administrative staff. The mistake has been made so that instead of the university apply the quota law on the amount of each position in the public notice, regardless of placement, the university has applied the law of quotas separately, by Campus. We explain: the position of Assistant in Administration has a total of 13 vacancies. Of these, 10 are for Campus Maceió, 1 for Arapiraca, 1 for Viçosa and 1 for Santana do Ipanema. Instead of UFAL applying the law on the thirteen total vacancies, she is applying on the amount of vacancy present in each Campus. The consequence of this way to see the law, is that the university ends up reducing the number of places to be allocated to racial quotas.
To begin the dialogue with such a situation, at first, we impugnated the two public notices, requesting it’s rectification in the terms set forth above. Subsequently, we met with the university’s senior management to expose the problem and propose ways to correct it. At that moment, the dean and other members of the university committed themselves to create a commission to think about the model to be adopted by the university, starting from the experiences already existing in other states.
Aiming at guaranteeing the strict application of Law 12.990 / 2014, on July 10, we met with the Federal Public Prosecutor, Niedja Kaspary, where we present the situation – in which the prosecutor agreed – and we obtained the commitment of FPP to inquire the UFAL about the issues raised. The university has already responded positively to the call for technicians (Notice nº 44), committing itself to rectify it. However, it still did not respond to the professors’ notice (Notice nº 46).
I Black Advocacy Seminary of Alagoas
The debate regarding the promotion of the black population in Alagoas needs to be an important part of the agenda of the state business. Justice is a fundamental niche for guaranteeing the rights of this population. In this sense, the task that is set for us is not only to raise awareness of the institutions that make up our judiciary, but also and especially to constitute a body of lawmakers who act proactively in the interest of that population. The Brazilian State has a reasonable set of laws that guarantee the full development of the well-being of the black population, but in many cases the absence of objective actions regarding the applicability of the law perpetuates the framework of vulnerability / genocide in which the black population is inserted. In order to discuss this situation, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas has developed a series of actions aimed mainly at the training / instruction of professional categories, aiming to insert them in the debate about public policies for black people. This time, our action turns to the operators of the Law in its various areas of action, because we understand that the activation and access to justice is a fundamental task to the socioeconomic promotion of the Afro-Alagoas.
This initiative is part of a series of actions already developed by Instituto do Negro de Alagoas within the framework of the Alagoas judiciary, as the important partnership that we have established with the State Public Prosecutor, where we have been using it to collect concrete actions from the public authorities, aiming at improving the quality of life of the black Alagoan community.
Continuing the actions in the area of justice in Alagoas, INEG / AL will hold on August 2, 2019, the First Black Advocacy Seminar of Alagoas, which will have as facilitator, the master and doctoral student in Procedural Law, Irapuã Santana, who is Prosecutor of the City of Mauá-SP, and has a broad knowledge of the rights of the black population. The Seminar will be composed of practical activities aimed at the instrumentalisation of legal operators for the development of objective actions in favor of the black segment.
INEG/AL Holds Seminar on Racial Issues and Public Security.
On May 24, 2019, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL) held a seminar entitled Racial Issues and Public Security: institutional reflections on racism, as part of the Project Between the Periphery and the Shore: public dialogues and antiracist practices, financed by the Baobab – Fund for Racial Equity. The event took place at the Faculty of Law of the Tiradentes University (Unit) and was attended by teachers, students, military police and activists of the local black movement. To foment the discussion, the debate had the initial explanation of the professor Msc. Carlos Nobre, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ). In his speech the professor highlighted the means by which the military police as an institution absorbs and reproduces racism in daily life and the necessary measures to overcome it. At the time also was presented Professor Nobre’s book, entitled The Black in the Military Police, which has as scenario the military police of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The representative of the Community Policing Nucleus, Captain Sidney, highlighted the actions taken by the community bases of the capital and the interior, despite the small amount of police for this type of police.
Roberto, a law student at the University, in presenting his work to finish the course, stressed how the police institution has acted within a policy of who may or may not be victimized by the armed forces within society. For this, the student was based on the perspective of the necropolitics of the camaronese philosopher Achille Mbembe.
The second seminar of the Project will be held in August, which will focus on black advocacy. From now on, there are all the guests!
All Support to Mother Vera of the Terreiro Abassá of Angola!
The state of Alagoas has a long tradition in persecute the cultural, political and religious manifestations of the Afro-Alagoan population. This practice remains until today, as we can see at the most recent attack on Terreiro de Mãe Vera at dawn this Monday (13.05.2019), in the neighborhood of Eustáquio Gomes. The cause of this attack is none other than the total and complete absence of policies for the promotion of the black population of Alagoas by the State and its policy of maintaining and perpetuating racism. Concerning the religions of African matrices in particular, the maximum we had was a request for pardon made by the state government on February 1, 2012, which was related to the historical episode of Xangô Break. Do not think that the persecutions to the Alagoas Terreiros were restricted to the episode of the Break! Oseas Rosas, a mid-20th-century police journalist, is not shy about referring to the frequent police raids on the capital’s Terreiros.
We, black people, and, in particular, Babalorixas and Ialorixás must be compensated for all the acts perpetrated against our people by the State of Alagoas and with their consent! It was incommensurable losses from the economic, political and cultural point of view. Racism has established the naturalization of disrespect and violation of the symbols we worship.
Current descendants of families who enslave black people got economic and political power. They owe us! The state universities (UNEAL, UNCISAL) to date do not have racial quotas in their selection processes! The State of Alagoas has not yet established racial quotas in state public tenders! The absence of state public policies for the Alagoas black population is alarming!
It is necessary to repudiate acts of violence against the black population committed by the omission of the State.
All support to Mother Vera of Terreiro Abassá of Angola !!
Toward Indemnity the Alagoan Black Population !!
Toward Public Policies to Promote the Black Population of Alagoas !!
Racial Quotes at UNEAL and UNCISAL!!
Racial Quotas in the State Public Tender Now !!
In Partnership with INEG / AL, CRESS-AL Holds a Course on the Ethnic-Racial Issues.
The Regional Council of Social Work (CRESS), along with the Social Work Faculty of the Federal University of Alagoas (FSSO / UFAL) will hold an Extension Course on Ethnic-Racial Relations and Social Work. The course will be held in May and June and will have the partnership of Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL), the Center for Afro-Brazilian Studies (NEAB / UFAL) and the Center for Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Studies (NEABI / IFAL).
Bringing experts in the ethnic-racial debate in Alagoas, the course aims to endorse discussions about institutionalized racism in the state, and to provoke the category in order to think about the tasks to confront and intervene in the harsh reality of the black population in Alagoas . The target audience of the course are social workers active and in a regular situation of their professional registration.
The formation of professional categories from the most varied areas on issues related to brazilian race relations is a fundamental task for the socioeconomic promotion of the black population, given the historical neglect of our issues in conventional vocational training processes. Although the Afro-Brazilian population constitutes more than half of our total population, the reproduction of racism, especially in such spaces of formation, has ensured that the ethnic segment remains at the base of the social pyramid, in a situation of total vulnerability, meaning a true state of ethnic genocide. In this sense, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas – INEG / AL has been primed for the positive training of these professionals, in order to prepare them to deal with the problems and particularities that are characteristic of the brazilian black population. The Brazilian State already has a reasonable legal framework, which allows the promotion of a series of initiatives in the world of work. It is precisely for such initiatives that INEG / AL is a partner of CRESS-AL in carrying out this course.
This course corresponds to one of the actions that CRESS / AL has been proposing within the tenure campaign (2017-2020) Social Workers in the Fight Against Racism.
The course has a 60 hour workload and will start on May 2. Inaugural lecture will be open to the public.
Promoting the Black Population Issues!
On March 11, continuing the activities of the Project Between the Periphery and the Shore: public dialogues and anti-racist practices, we were with military police officers from various community bases in the capital and the interior. At the time, the police were able to present some of the actions they have developed with the communities in which they are located, such as the neighborhoods of Osman Loureiro, Carminha, Vergel do Lago, Jacintinho, Pedras (Marechal Deodoro), among others . In addition to the community bases, a representation of the School Police Battalion (BPESc) also attended the meeting. After the opening of the activity, made by Captain Dayana Araújo, Captain Sidney Inacio – both from the Community Policing Nucleus (NPC) – and by us from INEG / AL, representations of the community bases and the School Police Battalion presented the activities that they have been performed in their communities. Among these activities were highlighted the actions developed with the public schools, such as lectures and projects with the school community. In addition to these activities, some actions involving recreational practices related to commemorative dates and the practice of sports were also highlighted by the police. The police also emphasized the effort that has been made to enable the insertion of some of the most needy people, either by getting a job vacancy in a private company or even a vacancy in some educational institution with a larger structure for one or another youth from the periphery of the capital.
At the end of the presentations, we deal briefly with how police officers can contribute to the promotion of issues related to the black population, especially in the school environment, due to it’s greater insertion in this spot. In this way, we discussed about their need to focus on the application of Law 10.639 / 03 through dialogues with teachers and school managers.
For the Right to Existence! (Editorial)
Cities are social, cultural, political and economic constructions that elaborate multifaceted conditions related to individual and collective experiences around their daily lives. Cities are places where the struggles for meanings, for rights, occur every day, and where the elements of differentiation are expressed incisively. We are daily living processes of differentiation, manifested in the form of spatial segregation and racism. The daily struggle is to have the right to the city, to have the right to move through it and become part of it. The feeling of denial of citizenship has become commonplace for black people. The history of the Brazilian formation cities, especially in the northeast region, is very perverse for us afro-brazilians.
Cities, formerly provinces, were stages of punishment, persecution, imprisonment, etc., which, over the years, became part of the collective memory of brazilian society. The signification processes of the cities go through the non-recognition of the afro-brazilian population as belonging to it. The process of surveillance around the afro-brazilian population is a condition of existence for the Brazilian State that imposes in a perverse way, dynamics of persecution similar to the modus operandi of the past, using old and new surveillance mechanisms to reproduce institutional racism in the public spots. We are fighting for access to the health of the black population, the implementation of law 10.639, for rights to the black religions, for the rights of black LGBTI. We are fighting for the lives of young black people. The data point to the total violence of the Brazilian State for the issues involving the black population. It shows a large number of homicides of young people, in particular, young black mans who lives in socially peripheral neighborhoods. The Atlas of Violence of 2018, prepared by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), places the state of Alagoas in second place when it comes to homicide, with a rate of 54.2 homicides for each group of one hundred thousand inhabitants.
The city of Maceió, in the State of Alagoas, occupies a prominent place with regard to homicide data. It is important to think that public policies that were somehow designed to remedy the problem did not work as they should. The fact is not about the methodological perspective of the programs, but about the lack of interest in facing the problem. Disinterest is the result of Institutional Racism. It is important that we present the scenario so that we can propose a project that seeks to dialogue incisively on this very delicate issue for the black population in Alagoas. It is important to understand that Alagoas does not point to a perspective of discussing these issues on the part of the State. What we are experiencing is a policy of criminalization of the black population and an increase in homicides as a result of a policy that is incapable of understanding our issues and our rights. It is a policy of denial of our bodies.
INEG/AL Attend Meeting with Alagoas Regional Council of Social Work
At the invitation of the Alagoas Regional Council of Social Work (CRESS-AL), the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas attended the meeting in which proposals of improving the professional work of Social Work were discussed, particularly related to racial issues. At the time, it was decided to hold a course for social workers, which will not only theoretically address issues related to brazilian race relations, but will also indicate and suggest proposals for intervention in the fields of Social Work in the state.
Discussing Institutional Racism with the Military Police
In order to promote the debate on institutional racism to improving the relations with the Afro-Alagoan population, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas – INEG / AL, has established a dialogue with the Community Policing Base of Vergel do Lago, in Maceió, as part of the actions that will be developed in the Project “Between the Periphery and the Beach: public dialogues and antiracist practices”, supported by Baobá – Racial Equity Fund and by the OAK Foundation. In addition to the officers and members of INEG / AL, the meeting was also attended by the State Public Prosecutor and his staff, who are responsible for the 61st Prosecutor’s Office of the Capital – Human rights.
In this first meeting the military police exposed the difficulties they have, from an operational point of view, from the point of view of dealing with the issue of brazilian race relations and how they interfere and are inscribed in our society. It was also commented by them that such topic had never been discussed between them and that the Project will be of paramount importance so that they can approach and create the minimum conditions to deal with such issue.
Among the activities to be developed in the Project, we highlight the realization of two seminars that will have the participation of specialists in the area of human rights and race relations.
The public prosecutor, Jomar Amorin, highlighted the importance of the Project with a view to police qualification. The 61st Justice Prosecutor’s Office has established an important partnership with INEG / AL to promote the black population of Alagoas in a wide range of areas.
Council of the Federal University of Alagoas Approves Racial and Disabled People Quotas in Graduate Courses.
On December 10, 2018, the University Council (CONSUNI) of the Federal University of Alagoas – the highest deliberative body of this University – discussed the draft resolution on the establishment of racial quotas ( blacks and indigenous people) and for the physically handicapped in the graduate courses (lato sensu and stricto sensu). The draft is a result of the work developed by the Committee of Quotas in the Graduate, created by the Rectory in September 2016, which was the result of our dialogue with the Afro-Brazilian Studies Center of UFAL. The Commission was basically made up of professors from the University, by the Nucleus of Afro-Brazilian Studies – NEAB / UFAL, by the Accessibility Center – NAC / UFAL and by Instituto do Negro de Alagoas – INEG / AL. Three questions were fundamental within the resolution draft: the definition of a differentiated grade for quotaholders; the definition of quotas in the distribution of scholarships, in the same proportion of the percentage of the reserve of vacancies; and, the establishment of the verifying commissions for the self-declarated black candidates.
The creation and development of the Commission’s work encouraged the adoption of the system of racial quotas in the selective process of some graduate courses, even before the approval of the draft resolution. Although these courses have constituted and executed their own proposals, the model established by the Resolution represents a considerable increase in the percentage of vacancies reserved, in addition to defining a differentiated grade(only practiced by the Psychology and Anthropology Programs), besides the obligation of phenotypic verification.
In this way, the draft resolution, approved by the University Council of UFAL, has, in summary, the following specifications: quotas of at least 40% (forty percent), being at least 20% for blacks, minimum 10% for indigenous , and a minimum of 10% for the physically disabled. The graduate programs should have a cut-off grade in the selection process for the quota holders in the order of at least 20% lower than the non-quota holders’ cutoff, so that if a program has a cutoff of 7.0, can be classified in a given selective process with the grade of 5.6. Programs such as Psychology and Anthropology practice – and can continue practicing – the grades of 7.0 for non-quotaters and 5.0 for quota holders. In addition, in order to reduce the difficulties of maintenance of the quota holders during the course, a reserve of scholarships was defined in the order of 40% (forty percent).
The debate regarding the adoption of racial quotas in UFAL graduate courses began in 2014, when Instituto do Negro de Alagoas made a dialogue with the Graduate Program in History, the first course to establish the proposal within the framework of the University. Since then, discussions have grown, and due to the joint efforts of the black movement and the institution’s teachers, it was possible to approve the proposal of quotas on the university’s graduate courses on December 10, 2018 Federal Alagoas.
The struggle for public policies for the black population is far from over. Currently, INEG / AL is in dialogue with the State of Alagoas Research Foundation (FAPEAL), aiming at the creation of a scholarship program for blacks and indigenous people. In addition to FAPEAL, we are also in dialogue with the Graciliano Ramos Official Press, aiming at the promotion, publication and distribution of knowledge produced by our brothers and sisters and indigenous people.
Join us!! Strengthen the struggle of the black people in the state of Alagoas!! Contribute with INEG/AL!!
INEG/AL Selects Black Grant to Work on Project
The Instituto do Negro de Alagoas will develop the project Between the Periphery and the Orla (border): public dialogues and antiracist practices, under the support of Baobá – Racial Equity Fund and the OAK Foundation. In order to develop activities inherent to the project, INEG / AL is selecting a black student of Law, until October 20, 2018. Candidates must send a letter of intent explaining the reason for the application (maximum of four pages) and comment on the importance of an antiracist project for Alagoas. It is also necessary to send updated registration voucher, along with a photo, to the e-mail: inegalagoas@hotmail.com, with the title “SELECT INEG 2018”. The scholarship is worth R $ 500.00. The project will last ten months.
IFAL Build Up a Commission to Support Quilombola and Indigenous Fellows
Created by Ordinance No. 2144 / GR, of August 29, 2018, the Commission’s mission is to “assist in proving and supervising the condition of ethnic belonging of indigenous and quilombola students, as well as in the follow-up of such students in the process of academic adaptation”(Ordinance / MEC – nº 389, of May 9, 2013). The Commission must have an interdisciplinary character and, besides the representation of the institution, civil society representations must also be considered. Instituto do Negro de Alagoas also makes up the Commission. In addition to INEG / AL, the Commission also includes the public agents Karine Santos (Social Worker and Student Assistance Coordinator), Jordana Oliveira (Teacher and Coordinator of Inclusive Actions), Tâmara Silva (Teacher), Luis Silva (Teacher and General Coordinator of the Network e-tec Brasil), Maria Viana (Teacher) and Manuel Santos (State Coordinator of the Quilombola and Traditional Black Communities of Alagoas and National Coordinator Conaq). These actions are aimed at students enrolled in the Permanence Scholarship Program of the Ministry of Education, which aims to provide financial assistance to students enrolled in federal institutions of higher education that is in a situation of socioeconomic vulnerability, especially indigenous and quilombolas.
INEG is Selected in the Baobá Selection 2018 – The City We Want!
The Institute of Negro of Alagoas was selected in the Baobá Selection 2018 with the project Between the Periphery and the Coast: Public Dialogues and Anti-Racist Practices. Created specifically to the Northeastern region of Brazil, the selection notice brought a call for Afro-Brazilian Civil Society Organizations to present their projects with the theme The City That We Want.
The proposal presented by INEG, “Between the Periphery and the Coast: Public Dialogues and Anti-Racist Practices”, aims to establish dialogues with the Public Security and Judiciary institutions, debating and intervening in the possible practices of institutional racism carried out by these organs . With a special look at the Military Police of Alagoas, the project aims to work with the police that work in the Community Bases, located in peripheral neighborhoods of Maceió.
We advocate the construction of a guideline primer on police approaches aimed at black youth, LGBTIs, young people in compliance with socio-educational measures and houses of Afro-Brazilian religions. In addition to this action, we intend to propose the construction of a specific nucleus of military personnel who are adherents of the Afro-Brazilian religions, like the nucleus established in the State of Bahia.
The initiative also seeks to stimulate discussion, promote round talks, workshops and construct practical elements to combat institutional racism. It is important to raise the debate about the denial of citizenship faced by the black population of our State. The right to the city is taken from us on a daily basis and must be claimed with actions that enable us to face the mechanisms that exclude us.
The Baoba Fund was created in 2011 with the intention of supporting projects aimed at racial equity. It mobilize resources to contribute to the maintenance of Civil Society Organizations committed to fighting racial inequalities. The Baobá 2018 Selection- The City We Want was launched in partnership with the OAK Foundation and sought to include groups and organizations that fight to reverse the inequality to which the black populations are subjected.
INEG / AL attended the 70th Annual Meeting of the Afro and Indigenous SBPC
On July 23rd, 25th and 26th, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas promote a debate on black population issues, presenting what it has done in the state of Alagoas, on the occasion of the 70th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society For the Progress of Science – SBPC. This year, the Meeting had a specific space for the promotion of discussions on black and indigenous populations, the SBPC Afro and Indigenous. Our participation took place in two round tables: “Racism in Brazil: invisibility and confrontation with forms of domination” and “Challenges of Guarantee of Inclusion through Quota Policies: a dialogue on democracy”. The first panel was proposed and organized by the Brazilian Association of Social Psychology (ABRAPSO), Brazilian Association of Political Psychology (ABPP) and National Association of Research and Graduate Studies in Psychology (ANPEPP), in the person of Professor Dr. Marcos Mesquita . The second panel was proposed and organized by the Gender and Race Commission of the Federal Institute of Alagoas (IFAL), in the person of Prof. Dr. Elaine Rapôso and the Social Worker, Danielly Spósito.
Both round tables were held in auditoriums filled with students and teachers, which contributed considerably to the debate, questioning aspects of our racial relations and the socio-economic promotion initiatives of the brazilian black population. For our part, we highlight the current challenges for the implementation of public policies for that population on the one hand, and on the other, we talked about some of the lobbying, advocacy and litigation that we have done with public institutions in the state of Alagoas.
During the debate the INEG / AL presented its publication, the book “Cabeça Preta: researches on the racial issues in Alagoas”, which was acquired by some of the participants of the event.
INEG / AL also organized a workshop entitled “Ethnic Artistic-Cultural Interventions in the City of São Paulo” along with Leandro de Arruda, member of the Collective of the Glicério Community of São Paulo. It was a space of important exchange of experiences, where we reflected on the differences and similarities of our regions.
Book’s release Black Head: researches on racial issue in Alagoas!
Last Saturday, May 19, 2018, was marked by the book’s release: Black Head: researches on racial issue in Alagoas, first publication of the Black Institute of Alagoas. The afternoon was, in a first moment, the reunion of several groups of the black Alagoan movement. A historical moment for the book’s release that brings together black writers, who dedicate themselves to the theoretical debate and to demand concrete actions for the black population in the state of Alagoas. The audience that attended can hear and debate together with the authors of the book. The speeches addressed various aspects of the black reality, such as religiosity, racial ethnic education, intervention projects in peripheries, dance expressions, political reflections, Capoeira, Hip Hop, among other subjects.
In a very informal format, the public could interact with writers very closely. After the debates of the presentations, it was still possible to participate in a high-level musical moment. Reggae, authorship songs, others known to everyone.
The importance of a book such as Black Head: researches on the racial issue in Alagoas, in addition to bringing black authors to the publication of their texts, is also to make these researchers, references to future writers. Through this publication, INEG / AL intends to contribute with a debate of ideas regarding the reality of the black Alagoan population. It is also in our interest to enable black leaders to have their experiences disseminated in order to strengthen their work in the communities, as well as to diversify the publishing market in the state, especially with regard to approaches based on the black experiences.
Besides the presence of the authors, also were present in the release, members of the Collective Afro Caeté; Paulinha, leadership of the Culture and Citizenship Center Malungos do Ilê; Ventania, Leto and Bigodinho, Masters and professor of Capoeira; Tininho, Prof. of Afro Dance; artists, educators, journalists, among others.
FAPEAL Establishes Ordinance that Creates Committee on Social Technologies and Affirmative Policies.
The Commission aim to “study, prepare, propose and prospect projects” for the development of affirmative policies.
INEG/AL Debates the Plight of the Black Population at IFAL/MD and UNIT.
On April 5 and 6, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas promoted the debate on the plight of the black population of Alagoas at the Federal Institute of Alagoas at Marechal Deodoro and at Tiradentes University (UNIT). Under the respective titles of “Interrogating Our History: violence against Black Population in Contemporary Brazil” and “Blackness: Art and Resistance in the Street,” both activities were characterized by the current need to discuss socioeconomic reality and the need for organization of the black population, considering the recent murder of the councilwoman Marielle Franco.
At the IFAL / Marechal Deodoro, Professor Fabrício Tavares highlighted violence as a characteristic inherent in the Brazil’s historical formation, in order to show that social problems were always treated as a police / army case. To that end, Fabrício mentioned the history of the political figure that gives name to the city that houses the Institute.
Still in the IFAL, Professor Regina Lopes talked about the importance of the roles played by the female black leaders in the construction of the national black struggle, as Lélia Gonzalez, Luiza Barrios, Matilde Ribeiro and Marielle Franco, among others.
In the round of discussions held at UNIT, we emphasize the need to create an affirmative action committee which would have as its object to foment the debate and the formulation of a proposal to promote blacks and indigenous people inside the University.
On both occasions, the most recent publication of the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas, Black Head: researches on the racial issue in Alagoas was presented, which will be launched in May.
At IFAL / MD, the activity was organized by Read Women from Marechal Deodoro, a reading group led by Professor Elaine Rapôso and also by the Nelson da Rabeca Student Guild. At UNIT, the talk group was organized by the Regional Council of Psychology – AL in partnership with the Students Academic Group of Psychology Nise da Silveira.
FAPEAL Will Create Commission to Formulate and Implement Affirmative Actions
In a meeting held on February 19, 2018 between the Alagoas State Research Foundation (FAPEAL), Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL) and the State Public Attorney (MPE), it was defined that the FAPEAL will create a Committee on Social and Affirmative Policies, within thirty days (extendable for the same term). This commission will be responsible for building a proposal to promote the black and indigenous segments, focusing on the policy of granting postgraduate scholarships (Masters and PhD).
Actions like this have already been developed by similar institutions to FAPEAL, such as CNPq scholarships for black undergraduates students. Despite this, the debate with the state foundations of research in allover the country has been practically nonexistent, if not, little successful. Since 2010, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas has been in dialogue with the said Foundation to create a specific scholarships granting program for blacks and indigenous people, aiming at promoting / inserting these segments in the states’s Master’s and PhD courses.
Beyond this action we have the proposal for the creation of racial quotas in the postgraduate courses of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), which should be submitted to the deliberative instances of the University in this semester.
Initiatives like this has a pivotal importance for the diminishing of historically constructed racial inequalities and, in the same way, as a consequence, to construct plural spaces, consistent with the representation of those segments in brazilian society.
Seminar Education and Racial Equity
Racism and its perversity in the Brazilian educational system was the subject discussed in the seminar “Education and Racial Equity”, carried out by the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL) in partnership with the State Department of Education. The seminar held by INEG / AL was part of a series of activities developed by the Institute in the project “Black Protagonism: conflicts in the school routine”, which was put into practice throughout the year 2017 at the State School Deputy Rubens Canuto , located in the Benedito Bentes neighborhood. The seminar that took place on December 7, 2017 at CENFOR / CEPA had as panelists Dr. Edson Kayapó, Dr. Cristiane Sobral, Ms Lepê Correa and Márcia Susana G. Lima.
The event began with the award of the contest “black personalities of the State of Alagoas”. Next, the lectures “Differentiated indigenous school education: subverting the colonizing school” and “Literature as a path in ethnic racial education and equity” were given by Professor Dr. Edson Kayapó and Professor Dr. Cristiane Sobral, respectively. Soon after, there was a debate and later the launch of the book “The Flying Carpet”, by Professor Cristiane.
The second moment of the event included not only the presence of Professor Lepê Correa, who gave the lecture “Contemporary School and Ethnic Issues”, as well as Professor Márcia Susana G. Lima, who lectured “The curriculum in the process of ethnic identity formation in early childhood education”. It is worth highlighting the participation of secondary students and managers of basic education and the importance of spaces such as this, which enable this exchange of knowledge, so that each day we can elaborate new and successful strategies of positive construction of the Alagoan black population and its achievements .
UFAL Graduate Programs Quotas Commission Move Foward on the Debate!
On November 17, 2017, the UFAL Graduate Quotas Commission met with a group of coordinators from some of the institution’s graduate programs. During the meeting, several aspects were discussed, highlighting two issues in particular: the classification’s grade and the debate concerning scholarships.
From the beginning of the discussions, the member of Pro-Rectory of Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Helson Sobrinho, made it clear to the graduate programmes coordinators that the proposal for a lower classification grade to be awarded to quota holders was a necessary factor in the nature of the Commission proposal, since the core of the debate is centered on the recognition of socio-economic trajectories differentiated between the segments that compose the brazilian population. This perspective was reinforced by Dr. Frederico Costa, professor of the Postgraduate Program in Psychology (PPGP), who problematized the notion of merit present in the academic environment and in the set of brazilian social relations as a whole, which was also defended by Dr. Cláudia Mura, representative of the Postgraduate Program in Social Anthropology. Thus, most of the coordinators ratified the proposition that the classification grade among the quota holders should be twenty percent lower than the classification grade of non-quota holders.
Then, came into discussion a proposal that the University should respect the possibility of the programs to constitute their own models of inclusion. Nevertheless, it was reiterated that UFAL would need to have an institutional proposal covering all Programs, not preventing them from creating aditional forms of inclusion, which was defended by INEG / AL.
Regarding scholarships, at first, some coordinators argued that the proposal must be in line with what is defined by research funding agencies, such as CAPES, CNPq and FAPEAL. However, Dr. Marcos Mesquita, professor of the Institute of Psychology, pointed out that, despite this, the Programs have the autonomy to create their own criteria for distribution of grants.
Also during the discussion, some coordinators of professional master’s programs emphasized the need for dialogue with the national networks that coordinate them, in the sense that they can be adapted to the one proposed by the Commission, which was reiterated by the coordinator of the Afro-Brazilian Studies Group (NEAB / UFAL), Dr. Lígia Ferreira.
Now, the next step is to present the proposal to the Academic Chamber and, later, once it is approved, to the University Council.
INEG/AL will participate in the First National Meeting of Black Advocacy in Brazil.
Between 27 and 30 November 2017, in São Paulo, the First National Meeting of Black Advocacy in Brazil will take place. The Meeting will take place within the XXIII National Conference of Brazilian Lawyers. Among the themes to be addressed, we highlight the following:
Paths to Effectiveness of Reparation of Slavery: Justice, Equality, Memory and Indemnities;
Meeting of the State Commissions on the Truth of Black Slavery and Presentation of Reports;
Quotas, Slavery Repair and the Role of Advocacy.
As you can see, the debate on reparatory policies will be at the heart of the meeting’s concerns. Within this context, it is pivotal that black advocacy should constitute instruments, mechanisms and networks that allow not only maintenance, but also and especially the expansion of rights and their effective materialization in the real life of the Afro-Brazilian population.
The debate regarding the Commission on the Truth of Black Slavery in Brazil necessarily refers us to the accountability of the families that enslaved human beings in colonial Brazil. In this way, the State is not the only instance for which the black population should address its claims. In the state of Alagoas in particular, we can exemplify as families that submitted thousands of people to the slave system, the Calheiros family and the Palmeira family, as the local historiography remind us. These and other Alagoan families have the duty to financially repair the population, among other forms, through the creation of a repair fund which would support the execution of public policies for the socio-economic promotion of the Alagoas black population.
The policy of racial quotas has been threatened in its task of insertion of blacks and indigenous people in Brazilian higher education, inasmuch as fraud in self-declaration has increased in selective processes throughout the country, which calls us the responsibility for the improvement of this policy through the creation of more effective mechanisms to promote these segments.
These and other challenges are up to black advocacy in Brazil and Alagoas in particular. In the state of Alagoas, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas has been concerned with the training of legal operators committed to defending and promoting rights for the black population. In this way, the Institute has dialogued with law students, as well as with lawyers, aiming to compose a qualified body of lawyers to intervene in the most varied instances of alagoan society.
Aiming to continue the qualification of such a body of lawyers in the state of Alagoas, INEG / AL will participate in the First National Meeting of Black Advocacy in Brazil through a law student, Moniky Rocha, who will attend the Meeting .
Climbing the Serra da Barriga!
As part of the activities carried out in the Black Protagonism project we visited Serra da Barriga with the articulating students of the State School Deputado Rubens Canuto. Throughout the course of visitation, it was possible to establish a dialogue with students addressing aspects of our history, with emphasis on manifestations of resistance carried out by the black population enslaved during the colonial period.
Besides the debate concerning the various forms of resistance of the enslaved negro, which were not restricted to the constitution of Quilombos, it was also possible, through observation of the architectural constructions present in the Serra, to give importance to the indigenous presence on it, portrayed in the dwellings with a native aspect, which allows us to give attention to the multi-ethnic and pluricultural character.
In the place reserved for the ashes of the brazilian black leader, Abdias do Nascimento, the student Milena Barbosa, student of the 3rd grade B, could explain a little bit of the activist’s life, achievements and importance, highlighting his performance as a parliamentarian, writer and dramatist.
Within the activities foreseen in the Project will also be held a seminar on the challenges to racial equity in education, to be given at the end of October.
“Quilombo in the School: Round of Conversation on Youth, Culture and Resistance”
Between August 7th and 15th, another edition of the traditional event, called Festa do Meado de Agosto (Midle of August Feast) took place in the rural black community of Poço do Lunga, located in the municipality of Taquarana / AL. The municipality also has three more rural black communities: community of Mameluco, Paso do Vigário and Lagoa do Coxo. The event came amid a set of political threats to the rights of the remaining communities of quilombos from all over the country, as the Partido Democratas (formerly PFL) once again filed suit in 2004 against the Decree regulating procedures for the quilombola lands ownership. Due to requests from the STF ministers, the trial has been postponed. To discuss this and other issues, the event counted on the accomplishment of some round of conversatons, which were characterized by the diversity in approach and plurality of perspectives, evident in one of the conversation wheels that counted on the facilitation of the militant of Hip Hop, Alyne Sakura; one member of the Alagoana Identity group, Ticiane Simões; another member of the group Anajô, Jorge Filho, besides members of other organizations. The Instituto do Negro de Alagoas also participated in this activity, establishing a dialogue with the students of the Santos Ferraz State School on the need to organize the black population, as well as on the duty of the State and the descendants of the families that enslaved our ancestors in the development of public policies for the socioeconomic promotion of our population.
Alyne Sakura developed a scenic performance emphasizing the abusive relationships, in which woman is victim of psychological and even physical violence. In order to show this sort of violence, the member of the Alagoan Hip Hop movement represented the murder of women through firearms, a very present phenomenon in our country.
Ticiane Simões, on the other hand, also through scenic performance, established a dialogue with the present public, alluding to the typical characteristic of the behavior of ordinary citizens, who generally do not care about the problem of the other, although this same problem is up to society as a whole.
Jorge Filho made some considerations on the politics of racial quotas and on aspects related to Christianity and the Negro issue.
The Levante Popular da Juventude member stressed the need to unify the struggles of the countryside and the city for the construction of a more just society.
In addition to the participation of the School’s students, the event also had the contribution of the Hip Hop movement members from the municipality of Palmeira dos Índios.
Articulating Peripheral Arts: from invisibility to protagonism.
The cultural opulence present in the district of Benedito Bentes and surrounding areas is something that can be easily verified. Aiming to articulate a variety of cultural and artistic activities, in a peripheral district of Maceió / Alagoas, seeking yet the construction of self-managing mechanisms, the INEG / AL will start the project Articulating Peripheral Arts: from invisibility to protagonism. The oppressed theater, Afro dance, capoeira and elements of Hip Hop, are practices of strong presence in the Maceió’s peripheries, however, they are not potentiated in the same proportion that they are beneficial to the cognitive and social development of young people and adolescents of the peripheries. The articulation of these social and cultural practices has as main objective to build an organization as a cooperative of artists. This cooperative will provide conditions to develop the various arts mentioned above within the peripheral communities of the Benedito Bentes Complex, enabling the production of shows and also the development of local artistic entrepreneurship among young people and adolescents living in the region.
Through the cooperative of artists we will build a specific repertoire, that is, we will focus on the artistic training of young people and adolescents, but also produce and sell shows as a result of their work as young artists. As already mentioned, there is a significant amount of artistic practices in this neighborhood, however the dimensions of production and exposure are extremely precarious. We hope with this project to develop the culture in this neighborhood, enabling, from a cooperative organization, the sustainable development of the arts practiced by local artists. The main activities that we intend to develop in this initiative will be artistic workshops (training of artists), production courses (lighting, sound, digital technologies applied to artistic production), artistic cooperativism and artistic entrepreneurship. The beneficiaries of this project will be 50 young adolescents living in the neighborhood. The project will last one year.
It is important to create alternatives for young people and adolescents living in the Complexo Benedito Bentes, with cultural and artistic manifestations as a possibility for dialogue and social development in the first instance beyond the professional aspect. The artists who are developing their activities in the Complexo Benedito Bentes have no financial aid from the State, and carry out their activities in a precarious way, nevertheless, they manage to reach a significant amount of young people and adolescents with their activities.These social actors are developing their activities individually in the Benedito Bentes Complexo. In this way, the main objective of the project is to enhance the activities of these professionals and develop them in order to reach young people and adolescents and promote perspective of production of shows through an artists’ cooperative. An initiative like this has a direct impact on the perspective of young people and adolescents who are involved with some cultural manifestation in the neighborhood.
To accomplish all those activities described above, which will take place from september 2017, the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas will have the technical and financial support of the Instituto Nordeste Cidadania.
“Education: a way to finish racism”
In order to mobilize the high school students of the State School Deputy Rubens Canuto around the racial theme, a writing competition was held at the end of June with the theme “Education: a way to finish racism”. The event was attended by 150 students. A total of six were selected, four women and two men. The students will be articulators of the Black Protagonism project: clashes in the school routine, in addition to participating in other training activities proposed by INEG / AL. In the selection of these students, besides the preparation of the essay, a series of interviews was also carried out. Thirty in total. We realized the need to increase the number of students who were initially expected to total a maximum of three students. This need was based on the quality and potential of the students during the interviews.
During the interviews, Victor Patrick, a student of the 2nd grade, told us some events of his trajectory, highlighting what happened on a given day, where in a police approach he was the only one searched by the police, among his friends. On the other hand, Milena and Jessica, students of the 3rd grade, mentioned the various prejudicial jokes – many of them being among their school friends – that for the most part went unnoticed but deserved to be banned. At another time, Jessica commented on how much racism is present even within black families, where those with darker pigmentation end up being the most “persecuted” within domestic problems. Samya, a student of the 1st grade, mentioned the racism she has been a victim of, especially with regard to her hair, wich undergone into a chemichal process in order to get it straight. She also made reference to the same process, this time experienced by her younger sister. Milena also made reference to how difficult, in her view, is to end racism but acknowledged that we have no other way but to make people aware of the struggle of the black people.
The selected students were: Victor Patrick (2nd grade A), Billy Pool (2nd grade D), Milena Barbosa (3rd grade B), Samya Beatriz (1st grade C), Mirian Conceição grade B) and Jéssica Araujo (3rd grade B). All of them will receive financial support for the full development of the activities as articulators.
Instituto do Negro de Alagoas is grateful to all those who participated in this contest, at the same time inviting everyone to become involved in the Project activities throughout the year, until December. Congratulations to the selected students!
Environmental Technologies Masters’s Application (IFAL) Will Be Composed by Racial Quotas and Verification Commission
In order to promote gender and race issues within the Federal Institute of Alagoas (IFAL), the Gender and Race Commission was created to develope some initiatives within and outside the Federal Institute of Alagoas (IFAL), not only to promote respect for diversity among its employees, but also to think about and elaborate proposals for public policies to promote historically discriminated segments, such as the black and indigenous population. Among these policies, the national scenario has highlighted the adoption of racial quotas in the selective processes of postgraduate courses, which is already an advance concerning the already established system of quotas for undergraduate courses in public higher education institutions . Despite the legitimacy and seriousness of such a policy, it has been the target of a series of frauds by individuals who, in a very recurrent way, have been criminally trying to circumvent the criteria defined by this policy in order to obtain a supposed success in your application to those courses. Such cases have been found in some Brazilian universities, such as the Federal University of Pelotas (RS), which had a total of twenty-seven students denounced in the Faculty of Medicine. Among Universities that have been the target of fraudulent self-declarations we can locate the Federal University of Uberlândia (MG), the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, among others.
In order to combat such attitudes within federal public tenders, the Secretariat for Personnel Management and Labor Relations in the Public Service issued normative guidance (003/2016), providing rules for verifying the veracity of self-declaration from black self-declared candidates. Although such legislation does not apply to racial quota systems in federal institutions of higher education, these institutions have taken initiatives to ensure the correct application of the policy. In this way, they have been creating commissions that aim to gauge the self-declaration of candidates who opt for the quota system in the selective processes.
The Federal Institute of Alagoas, through actions promoted by its Office of Research and Innovation, recently created its first Masters course, with major in Environmental Technologies. In its selection process, the system of racial quotas for black, indigenous and quilombola candidates was adopted, as well as the reserve of vacancies for the Institute’s employees. With regard to racial quotas, four vacancies will be awarded to the candidates mentioned above. In order to avoid possible fraud within the process, the institution has chosen to adhere to what has been nationally agreed, ie, the creation of a commission that will be responsible for assessing the possible self-declaration of potential quota holders. Instituto do Negro de Alagoas has become a partner in the implementation of this process, which will be developed by the IFAL Race and Gender Commission.
Students from the State School Dep. Rubens Canuto (AL) Debate About Racism Experienced in Daily Life
On the afternoon of June 13 of the current year, the project Black Protagonism o was presented to the high school students of the Rubens Canuto School. In order to instigate their participation, two small videos were shown. The first one, showed the testimonies of black youths reporting the common problems they face daily, such as routine police approaches and also stereotyped questions, which presuppose that blacks have this or that occupation, shown in the video by the speech of a young black girl who questioned the fact that a person had asked her about which samba school she would be affiliated with, instead of asking her which college course she attended. After that, another video was presented aimed Brazilian racial inequalities, evident in the proportion of access to higher education; in the composition of the prison population; in the consumption of consumer goods and social equipments, indispensable to the well-being of any population.
The students’ statements reaffirmed the facts presented in the videos insofar as they reported similar experiences lived by them in their life trajectories, whether inside or outside the school space, as confided to us by Robert, a student of the 3rd grade. The debate on inequalities in educational opportunities was highlighted, which would justify the need to adopt racial quotas in selective processes. Another subject raised by the students, refers to the aesthetic standards dictated by the brazilian media, especially those propagated by the soap opera. Such discussion gave rise to the talk about black self-esteem and the consequences of a negatively constructed identity. Another aspect addressed by the School Deputy Rubens Canuto’ students concerns how much colorism also ends up reproducing and reinforcing the racism that oppress them, which ends up undermining any possibility of organization to face such a structure.
The Project launch with students included the participation of Geysson Santos, a member of Cia Hip Hop, and Nêgo Love, an activist of the Alagoan hip hop movement. In addition to these, the members of the Rap UTP / Last Option group were also present. The School History teacher, Carlos Pereira, was also present organizing the activity and debating with the students. Beginning next Saturday will start the workshops defined in the Project, starting with the Capoeira workshop to be taught by teacher Denivan, who is also a member of the Alagoas Capoeira Federation.
The Project Black Protagonism: clashes in the school routine will last seven months, and will be completed in December 2017.
Dialogue with the Maceio Racial Equality Policies Department.
In reason to presenting some proposals of public policies for the black population of Maceió, the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas received in its headquarters, Mrs. Tereza Olegário, Maceió Racial Equality Policy Coordinator. She said is developing an effort to know the Black Movement Organizations in the capital, as well as the activities developed by them. Among the issues addressed by the coordinator was given due attention to the referrals for the creation of what will become the Municipal Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality, which would be responsible, among other things, for proposing policies of socioeconomic promotion of the local black population in the most varied municipality instances, since it has no such policy. We were also informed that this month there should be a meeting with the participation of local Black Movement Organizations, with the aim of thinking of an appropriate format for the said Council. In another moment, the coordinator mentioned the difficulty in obtaining data on the black population, which certainly occurs because the Municipal Government, among other things, do not have the existence of the color question in their documents and forms, which makes it difficult obtaining an adequate diagnosis.
In the set of issues raised by INEG / AL, the need to retake the debate concerning the Living Youth Plan was emphasized, which privileged, in its conception, a series of actions aimed at black youth that wasn’t put in practice, because of the public administration no interest in its execution. The Institute also emphasized the need of the Municipality to establish racial quotas in municipal public tenders, as a way of contributing to the access of the black population to the public career, as well as guaranteeing a greater representation of that segment in the municipal public service.
Furthermore, INEG / AL presented a proposal to create a scholarship grant program for black students of the municipal education network, which would act in a way to contribute to the decrease School dropout among black youth. This proposal is supported by the Law on the Guidelines and Bases of Education (LDB), which in its seventy article, sixth paragraph, alludes to this situation: VI – granting scholarships to students of public and private schools.
Black Protagonism Project: conflicts in the school daily life.
In order to tracing the first directions for the implementation of the Black Protagonism project: conflicts in the school daily life, on March 31, 2017, the first meeting of the Negro Institute of Alagoas was held with the State School Deputy Rubens Canuto’s principal and coordinator, respectively the ladies Vanúbia Oliveira and Veroneide Siqueira. The School’s principal, Mrs. Vanúbia Oliveira, expressed satisfaction at the fact that the School could be the location for such an initiative, which will join other projects already developed by the state educational institution. Among the issues discussed, the Project’s beginning was defined for the end of May, when the school will return from the vacation period.
It was also discussed the methodology to be used in the essay contest that will have the objective of selecting two students to act as articulators of the Project, inside the school. As an articulator we will also have the participation of History’s teacher of the School, Mr. Carlos Pereira, who, on the occasion of the meeting, reported on the effort he has made in the interior of the institution in order to guarantee the debate concerning the black population issues, not only through their classes, but also through the problematization of its Pedagogical Political Project. In this respect, it is also an activity of the Black Protagonism Project: conflicts in the daily school life, the analysis and discussion of the school’s Political Pedagogical Project, as well as its curricular matrices, aiming at its greater adequacy to what is established by Law 11.645 / 08. Still within this issue, the school’s management informed us of its Pedagogical Week – a privileged moment in the formation of the teaching staff – within which we defined a specific moment to deal with subjects related to the Project’s theme.
The Black Protagonism Project: conflicts in the daily life will comprise a series of activities targeted primarily at high school students. Among these, we can highlight thematic workshops based on the black cultural manifestations, talk wheels that will problematize the most varied aspects of the black people presence in Brazil and, particularly, in Alagoas. In addition to the aforementioned activities, it is part of this Project to carry out a training course in race relations to be taught to the teachers of this educational unit, aiming to guarantee a greater understanding of the historical scenario in which the process of marginalization and exclusion of the black population was established, in national and local scale.
The school environment is a privileged space for the deconstruction of racist practices in our society. Thus, in proposing a set of actions in the school context, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas, in partnership with the State School Deputado Rubens Canuto, contribute in an objective way with the formulation of anti-racist practices that promote the diversity present in our society at the same time promoting the debate about the condition of the Negro today.
Federal University of Alagoas Create a Commission to Implement Affirmative Actions on Graduate Studies Courses.
In order to guarantee the presence of the black and indigenous populations, besides the people with special needs, in the postgraduate courses of the Federal University of Alagoas, was formed in the middle of July 2016, a Commission with the aim of thinking and to construct a proposal of policy of access and permanence of those segments. The Commission is formed by the Center for Afro-Brazilian Studies (NEAB / UFAL), the Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL), the Pro-Rectorate for Research and Postgraduate Studies (PROPEP / UFAL), as well as professors and coordinators of postgraduate programs.
The first experience that incorporated the debate on the access of blacks and indigenous people to a postgraduate course at that University was developed by the Postgraduate Program in History (PPGH / UFAL), in the year 2015, and the proposal was approved in August of the previous year. In addition to contemplating the aforementioned segments, the program’s proposal also incorporated the debate on the empowerment of black leaders. In this way, it was reserved also vacancies for individuals committed to the struggle for the socioeconomic promotion of the black population in the country. Something done only by private institutions, which did not grant vacancies in postgraduate courses, but rather masters and doctorate scholarships for historically deprived segments.
With the initiative of the History Program, other programs also formulated proposals, like the Program in the area of Education and, more recently, that of Anthropology. These initiatives are in addition to those developed in the country, which forced the Ministry of Education to institute Regulatory Ordinance No. 13, dated May 11, 2016, which provides for the induction of Affirmative Actions in the Post-Graduation of Brazilian federal universities and gives other measures.
In addition to the preparation of an institutional proposal for the Federal University of Alagoas, the Pro Quotas Commission also noted the need to involve the Alagoas Foundation for Research Support (FAPEAL) in this debate, mainly on the guarantee of the quota holders attendance in their respective Programs, through the granting of scholarships.
Black Feminism and Affection
Continuing the lectures that took place throughout the year 2015, Instituto do Negro de Alagoas (INEG / AL), brought the Coordinator of the Black Women / UNB Study Group, Bruna Pereira, to Alagoas on November 27, 2015. The debate was productive and reflective. The proposed theme, “Black Feminism and Affection” was the initial opening for a variety of issues concerning black women in Brazil.
The speaker began her explanation by doing a conceptual reading of feminism in Brazil, and what differs the conditions of being a woman in a male chauvinist country and with an alarming rate of violence against women. In this context, Bruna clarified that there are current data from the latest research on violence in Brazil that points to a decrease in the mortality of women in the country. However, these data, if observed in a universal way, end up obscuring the particularities that exist in this population segment. Looking at these particularities, the data will point to the increase in violence against black women in Brazil. In this sense, Bruna stressed the need for black women to have their debates in a Black Feminist Movement, which discusses the particularities of black women.
Bruna’s analyzes covered several points that encompass the Brazilian black feminist debate, with a particular view on affectivity. In this context, the speaker addressed some ways blacks in Brazil deal with racism, such as relationships with white people. Relationships that have racial conflicts within the family, often causing physical and moral violence, end up affecting many women. While white women are in the affective setting of formal marriages, black women appear with informal relationships or as lovers, justifying perhaps the phrase “white to marry and black to fuck”.
Bruna also stressed the black feminist movement importance to understand that gender discussion needs to take into account that there is a black genocide that affects mainly young men. It shows in this sense that black feminism has an advanced debate regarding the black movement in its diversity of approaches.
The debates brought further clarification regarding black feminism and other issues of the black people in Brazil and Alagoas. Discussions such as these are pivotal to promote the Alagoas black women self-esteem, as well as bring this debate to the black Alagoan movements.
Instituto do Negro de Alagoas - INEG/AL 