Note from BW of Brazil: Great to see so many public displays of pride in afro-textured hair! It seems as if thousands of black Brazilian women have figured that if they don’t learn to appreciate their physical characteristics, Brazil’s media and the society as a whole certainly won’t. As natural black hair has been considered cabelo ruim (bad hair) for so long, it will most likely take just as long to destruct such negative ideologies about cabelo crespo (kinky/curly hair). And as long as this event in Bahia, another one in Minas Gerais and numerous others (here, here or here, for examples) featuring black women celebrating themselves, they will continue to have a place here at Black Women of Brazil! So for now, enjoy the photos below!
Black beauty is highlighted in the 2nd Encounter DiPretas in Simões Filho, Bahia
Black beauty earns notorious space with the presence of several women who gathered in Simões Filho, for the “2º Encontro DiPretas” (2nd Encounter of Black Women).
Courtesy of Simões Filho Online; Photos: Mount Simões Filho Online
Several special events marked Friday (20th) in Brazil. The day celebrates the National Day of Black Consciousness. In Simões Filho, in the metropolitan region of Salvador (Bahia), it is no different.
Black beauty earned a notorious space with the presence of several women who gathered for the “2º Encontro DiPretas”. The event took place on Sunday (22), starting at 1pm at the Praça da Bandeira.
The encounter is a realization of DiPretas and its creators, Lyla Matos and Lucineri Nascimento Viana, besides the collaboration of Nayale Santos and Lucineuza Ferreira.
The event aimed to encourage appreciation and black identity, demanding its space, in particular the acceptance of the wearing of cabelo crespo e cacheado (kinky/curly hair and curly hair) in its natural form.
The National Day of Zumbi and Black Consciousness, celebrated on November 20th, was officially established by Law No. 12.519 on November 10th, 2011.
The date makes reference to the death of Zumbi, the then leader of the Palmares quilombo – situated between the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil. Zumbi was killed in 1695, on that date by bandeirantes led by Domingos Jorge Velho.
With the re-democratization of Brazil and the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution, various segments of society, including social movements, such as the Movimento Negro (Black Movement), have gained more space in the discussions and political decisions.
The law of race or color prejudice (No. 7716, of January 5, 1989) and laws such as racial quotas in higher education, and specifically in the area of basic education, law 10.639 of January 9th, 2003, which established the mandatory teaching of Afro-Brazilian History and Culture, are examples of laws which provide some reparation to the damage suffered by the black population in Brazil’s history.
The Zumbi dos Palmares figure is especially claimed by the Movimento Negro as a symbol of all these achievements, so much so that the law establishing the Day of Black Consciousness was also the result of this demand.
Zumbi’s name is even suggested in the National Curriculum Guidelines for Education of Racial-Ethnic Relations and the Teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African History and Culture as a personality to be addressed in basic education classes as an example of the black struggle in Brazil.
This suggestion is oriented by one of the determinations of Law No. 10.639, which states in article 26a, paragraph 1: “The programmatic content referred to in the heading of this article will include the study of the History of African and Africans, black Brazilian culture and blacks in the formation of the national society, redeeming the contribution of black people in the social, economic and political areas relevant to the history of Brazil.”
Source: Dirigida
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