Sign: 93% of youth killed in (state of ) Espírito Santo are black
In our continuing coverage of the genocidal rates of homicide of black youth in various Brazilian states (see related articles at bottom of page), an organization will march on November 20th, Brazil’s Day of Consciousness, against the alarming rates of murder of young, black males in the southeastern state of Espírito Santo. See the full report below. This genocide against Brazil’s black population is being ignored by the worldwide media so please feel free to share.
In its 5th edition, an act that will be held on Tuesday, in the capital city of Vitória, is part of statewide campaign
by Kauê Scarim
The State March Against the Extermination of Black Youth is coming to its fifth edition this Tuesday, the memorable November 20th, the date of death, in 1695, of the quilombo (maroon society) leader Zumbi dos Palmares, when the Day of Black Consciousness is celebrated. Organized by the Fórum Estadual da Juventude Negra do Estado (State Forum of Black Youth or Fejunes), the march has been a part of the calendar of militants in the southeastern state of Espírito Santo since 2008, when the organization launched a campaign against the extermination of black youths.
This year, the event is scheduled to begin at 8am in the old Port Authority, in downtown Vitória, which is the state capital. The theme of the 2012 act is “Racism kills: don’t just stand there”, referring to the problem of the high rate of mortality of young blacks in the state. According to Fejunes, the campaign goal is to report this fact in order to reverse the profound lack of public policies and affirmative actions for the sector.
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| March against the extermination of black youth |
The state indexes show that, actually, the reality is far from being easy. The homicide rate for blacks in the state of Espírito Santo is of 62.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to a 2012 report entitled the Mapa da Violência (Map of Violence). To put this in perspective, this compares to the homicide rate for whites, which is 17.1 per 100,000. In other words, the homicide rate for black youth is 364% higher than that of young whites.
In relation to young people, i.e. people between 15 and 24 years of age, the state has a huge rate of 116.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Considering the data of the Ministry of Health which show that, in Brazil, 53% of homicides are youth and, of those, 75% are black, it is possible to estimate the high ranking of Espírito Santo in the mortality of black youth.
Moreover, the Map of Violence report shows that the metropolitan region of greater Vitória is fourth in the country in the homicide rate, with 68.6 violent deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants. Vitória is the third most violent capital city: 67.1 homicides per 100 thousand.
The indexes primarily by the fact that most young people murdered are found in regions of the metropolitan periphery, show the level of the lack of public policies that guarantee dignity for this population, today lacking not only of security, but also jobs, access the education, health care and quality housing.
Last year in a similar rally, the group marched against what they called the “Falsa Abolição da Escravatura”, or the False Abolition of Slavery. Slavery ended in Brazil on May 13th, 1888.
“The date has nothing to be celebrated by black people. May 13th symbolizes for us the day of the denouncement against racism. This vicious racism prevents black youth from having access to their rights. This contributes to this situation of extermination that we are experiencing today in Espírito Santo,” said Luiz Inácio Silva Rocha, or Lula as he is known, one of the coordinators of Fejunes.
According to research by the Sangari Institute, in 2008 the homicide rate that victimized young whites in the state was 27.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, versus 136.5 for blacks, in other words, a rate that is 494% higher for black youth.
“Young black and poor residents of the periphery are part of the most vulnerable group. I often say that young blacks who do not become a part of these sad statistics can be considered survivors of extermination.” The Fejunes militant also says that there is a very strong segregation in Espírito Santo. “It seems that there are two states, the Espírito Santo that belongs to the elites and the other abandoned, where the blacks are. The government talks a lot about economic development and growth potential, but blacks were not yet included in this Espírito Santo.”
Lula pointed out that the path of inclusion begins with the promotion of public policies that are truly capable of ensuring access to the black population. He recalled that, accordingly, former Governor Paulo Hartung positioned himself against blacks. “(Law number) 8594/2007 that established public policies for the youth, was vetoed by then-Governor Paulo Hartung. At the time, the Assembly came to override the veto,” he recalls. The proposal by deputy Cláudio Vereza (of the PT, party of Brazil’s last two presidents) also provides for the creation of the Youth Council, which remains on paper.
Source: Seculo Diário, Pastoral de Juventude
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