Rally seeks to bring together at least 100,000 black women
The executive coordinator of the Odara – Instituto da Mulher Negra (Institute of Black Women), Valdecir Nascimento, delivered on November 21st, an official letter of the March of Black Brazilian Women to long-time legendary activist Angela Davis, professor at the University of California in Santa Cruz. The delivery of the letter was made after a lecture given by Professor International Forum on November 20, organized by the Federal University of Recôncavo (UFRB), on the campus of Cruz das Almas in honor of the Black Consciousness Month, which is celebrated every November in Brazil.
On the occasion, Davis recorded a statement in support of the March of Black Brazilian Women, which is scheduled for September 2015, bringing together different segments of black women from across the country. At 68, Angela Davis remains one of the most important references of the American black and feminist struggle. “This is a moment that black activists have always dreamed of. I remember in the 70’s, in the space where did the meetings of MNU (Movimento Negro Unificado, Brazil’s black rights organizations) had a photo of Angela Davis and we spoke of our desire to present the experiences and political struggles of black people in Brazil and Bahia to her,” said Valdecir Nascimento.
Davis has been connecting with black Brazilians activists since at least 2008 when her arrival was highly anticipated and promoted within Movimento Negro and black university student circles. In August of 2008, Davis presented her lecture “Do Plantation ao Sistema Prisional (From the plantation to the prison industrial complex).”
The video with the declaration of support from Angela Davis, black leaders of Brazil and other countries will be released in 2015, with reports of political trajectory of black women in Brazil.
Here is the official announcement of the March, released in January of 2012
March of the one hundred thousand black women in Brasilia
In homage to our ancestors and in defense of the full citizenship of black Brazilian women we march because:
- We black women (pretas + pardas) are about 49 million women spread throughout all of Brazil;
- Racism, sexism, poverty, with social and economic inequality, has harmed our lives, lowering our collective self-esteem and our very survival;
- The strengthening of black identity has been damaged over the centuries by building a negative image of black people, especially black women, from the aesthetic (hair, body, etc.) To the social role developed for black women;
- Black women continue to receive the lowest wages and are the ones that have the most difficulty to enter the working world;
- The construction of the social role of black women is always thought of from the perspective of dependence, of inferiority and subordination, making it difficult for us to assume positions of power, management and decision-making, whether in the labor market, or in the area of political and social representation;
- Black women sustain the familiar group that performs informal tasks, that leads them to work double and triple work shifts;
- We still don’t have our human rights (civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental) fully respected.
Therefore, the Articulação das Mulheres Negras Brasileiras (Articulation of Black Brazilian Women)invites all to construct and participate in the March of 100,000 black women, to demand from the Brazilian state, as well as all sectors of our society, the effective commitment for our empowerment and promotion of racial and gender equity, so that we can fully exercise our rights as citizens and historic constructors of Brazilian history.
When: September 28, 2015 – Dia da Mãe Preta (Day of the Black Mother).
Location: Brasilia.
How to participate: see the website www.amnb.org.brand/or send emails to:
Text prepared in Brasília, during the 3rd National Conference on Policies for Women (December 12 to 15, 2011) at Hotel Plaza Bittar, by Simone Cross (ACMUN-RS-Coordinator, AMNB), Maria da Conceição Fontoura (Maria Mulher RS-Coordinator, AMNB), Luana Natielle Basílio e Silva (Bamidelê-PB) and Nilma Bentes (Cedenpa-PA-Coordinator, AMNB). On this occasion it was created by Simone and Luana.
http://2015-marchadascemmilmulheresnegras.blogspot.com/(no longer online)
Source: Racismo Ambiental, Odara Instituto
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