Brazil is the country with the most Afro-descendants outside of Africa, but its cultural wealth coexists with a painful legacy of slavery, exclusion and injustice. Structural racism persists in all areas, and black youth face systemic violence that continues to be unpunished, despite recent attempts at reparation and historic visibility.
Osvaldo Cardosa
In Brazil, a country with 2,185 million inhabitants, 56% (more than 122 million) of whom are considered to be black or mixed race. With such a figure, the country boasts the largest number of Afro-descendants outside of Africa. Their influence runs through every aspect of social and cultural life, shaping what is recognised as the very essence of modern Brazil.
In music, rhythms like the samba, bossa nova, maracatu, axé and funk have profoundly Afro-Brazilian roots. In Brazilian cuisine, dishes like acarajé and feijoada are living testimonies to the cultural diversity that African people brought with them.
Practices like Candomble and Umbanda keep the ancestral spirituality alive in the religious sphere. Even at the Carnival, the most emblematic festival of this South American giant, the importance of the Afro-Brazilian samba schools is undeniable.
Nevertheless, this inheritance of cultural wealth coexists with a history of pain. Brazil with the destination of more than 4 million enslaved Africans, the largest amount on the continent.
From the 16th to 19th century, men, women and children were forcefully uprooted from their homelands to build with blood and sweat the wealth of a nation which, even now, is facing the consequences of this founding violence,
The impact of this history is deeply embedded in social structure. Afro-descendants, despite their immense contributions, are still facing vast inequalities.
Today significant gaps persist in access to education, the labour market and health services. Structural racism permeates every level of society and young black people are still the main victim of police violence.
In statements to Escáner, historian Ana Paula Vianna Zaquieu confirms that the recognition of Afro-descendent contributions and the condemnation of racial discrimination are urgent matters.
Zaquieu is in charge of the Education Centre at the Museum of the Republic, and she is working to insert the black narrative into the official memories of Brazil. Located in the historic Catete Palace in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the art gallery is an eloquent symbol of the selective memory that has tried to erase the African presence in the national history. Inside, the absence of representations of black and indigenous peoples reveals a project aware of whitewashing and historic exclusion.
Objects, decorations, portraits and texts reinforce the image of a white, modern and European nation, deliberately hiding the racial diversity that it is made of.
This strategy, she explains to Escáner, was neither coincidental nor innocent, but part of a sophisticated mechanism of building a national identity that resigns Afro-descendants to invisibility.
The role of the Brazilian State in perpetuating racism is, for Zaquieu, undeniable. Through their institutions, their public policies (or lack thereof), and their security bodies, the State has historically contributed to reinforcing racial inequalities. This perpetuation is currently expressed through religious, environmental and institutional racism. However, among all the expressions of racial violence, the genocide of black youth stands out.
The data is terrifying: every 23 minutes, a black youth is murdered in Brazil. This reality, which should cause national outrage, is going almost unnoticed.
The naturalisation of these deaths is evidence of the level of dehumanisation that Afro-descendants have been subjected to.
Escáner recalls specifically the case of João Pedro, a 14-year-old boy murdered in 2020 during a police operation. Pedro was playing in his home when he was hit by a bullet in the back. The agents involved were acquitted in 2024 without even going to court.
This episode illustrates how the judicial system also contributes to this impunity and the maintenance of structural racism.
Despite the seriousness of this situation, Brazil is trying to establish policies of reparation. Since 2012, racial quotas have been implemented in public universities, seeking to widen access to higher education for Afro-descendants. Likewise, legislation demands the inclusion of African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture in school curriculums. PL
(Translated by Donna Davison – Email: donna_davison@hotmail.com) – Photos: Pixabay
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