We are tackling social inequalities by strengthening black communities in Brazil. OPINION 30/06/2025

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash. A man on the beach in Rio de Janeiro is in the background.

We are tackling social inequalities by strengthening black communities in Brazil.

The paradigm shifts that have occurred in the Sertão Paraibano, especially in terms of ethnic-racial issues, are the result of the social class struggle and the movements that drove the black movement in the 1970s in Brazil, with several actions by activists from the MNU – Movimento Negro Unificado (Unified Black Movement).

In Pombal, located in the Sertão Brasileiro, the fight against structural racism was carried out through resistance, struggle, and resilience, seeking equality and justice for the black and quilombola population. This historical context of confrontation began with our mentor Margarida Pereira da Silva, who had a sensitive view of poor children in Brazil, starting a partnership and moral and justice support work with a German couple, Heribert and Gert, both from Germany, who prioritized the issue of abandoned children, without food, malnourished children, children from dysfunctional families, without food and nutritional security and victims of abuse.

At that time, we had no laws or mechanisms to ensure children's rights, since the Statute of Children and Adolescents and the Organic Law of Social Assistance (LOAS) did not yet exist. In addition, we did not have the dimension, preparation, or in-depth knowledge about ethnic-racial literacy, nor did we confront racism in a direct or structured way.

The context we have today is the result of a long history of struggle by black people, with the support and financial participation, in addition to moral support, of a group in Germany. Germany has been a great partner, strengthening the journey towards the emancipation of the black population.

Lately, I have observed how much human beings have been losing their value in the face of so many atrocities, selfishness, greed for power, and the perpetuation of the dominant oligarchies that remain in power. During election campaigns, it is common for the political class to visit people, especially the poorest, the poorest and, progressively, black and brown people. However, after the election, we become invisible, without visibility or priority in the main actions and public policies. We are experiencing the old inversion of values ​​and the old idea of ​​racial democracy, in which only their own are favored, and we are left with crumbs. This behavior, combined with the changes that repress, oppress, alienate, and make us more vulnerable, puts us at constant risk in the absence of public policies. It is urgent to rescue a liberating education, which forms critical, conscious citizens committed to social transformation — and not just passive recipients of information. When I decided to write this text, with the aim of provoking and stimulating political debate, I realized how inhumane the structural racism provoked by the State is. This will not please many people or elitist public sectors that, historically, have perpetuated the dominance of whitening and the permanence of racism. I intend to provoke political debate, not to please anyone.

Life teaches us to perceive our bodies, spaces, contexts, the lack of opportunities, and the views on our features and ways of being. Racism against our ethnicity, race, and skin color is still very strong.

Talking about structural racism is a homework assignment.

We could not fail to mention the Unified Black Movement (MNU), founded in 1978, which defends the Afro-Brazilian community against racism and discrimination, seeking racial equality and the full participation of black people in all areas of society. The MNU works to organize black activism, fight against police violence, and promote Afro-Brazilian culture.

Law 10.639 has been in force in Brazil since 2003, and it needs to be effectively implemented in the curriculum as a pedagogical tool. However, progress has still been slow.

On the other hand, we have made progress in affirmative action policies, such as quotas in state and federal public services — although this is insufficient for a population of 91.1 million brown people and 20.6 million black people. Hunger, the increase in violence against black youth, the lack of basic sanitation, and the increase in the number of black homeless people are all reflections of the structural and environmental racism inherited from the slave regime.

But we have also made progress with the Statute of Racial Equality. I would like to highlight our participation in the 100 Years of Zumbi dos Palmares March in 1995, which had a profound impact on our work.

In Pombal, in the Brazilian hinterland, we have a history of struggle and organization. In 1995, we created the Black-Afro-Brazilian Movement Raízes Negras de Pombal and the Women's Group in the Nova Vida neighborhood. In 2007, we held the 1st Seminar “Education Has No Color,” in partnership with the Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality of the Federal Government, promoted by the CEMAR organization.

In addition, we organized the 1st Regional Conference on Racial Equality in 2013, with civil society and without government interference, and we participated in the 3rd National Conference on Racial Equality in Brasília.

All of this encouraged the creation of other spaces for struggle and defense of the human rights of the black population.

José Ribeiro da Silva

Pombal-PB, Sertão Paraibano

Human Rights Activist, Member of CEMAR, Activist of MNMMR, Operational Manager of Affirmative Action Policies (SEMDH), and Q4RNP Member.