
Note from BW of Brazil: It’s a shame, but it comes as no surprise that even black children and teens aren’t immune to racist insults in Brazil. But in reality, why would they be? Even being children, they are still black and as such they will experience the same sentiments that the nation reserves for all of its black citizens. I always take with a grain of salt when I see white (or near white) Brazilians compliment black children for being ‘linda’ (beautiful) or ‘fofo’ (cute) when they’re babies; everybody does that, right? But in the back of my mind I wonder, would this same person be calling this ‘cute’ child a macaco (monkey) or neguinha (little black/nigger) sometime in the future if they did something that they didn’t like? Of course, I wouldn’t accuse ALL of this sort of sentiment/treatment, but such sentiments are expressed everyday so I wouldn’t doubt that many would. And still deny harboring racist sentiments..

Now as I’ve written before, I don’t watch a lot of TV and haven’t for a number of years now. Often times I only catch something on television if I happen to be in room with someone who is watching the tube. As such, I didn’t even know who the young lady featured in today’s post was until I heard about this story. As I sought a little more info I discovered that the girl has been singing her heart out for a number of years! She’s now competing on The Voice Kids talent reality show on Globo TV but she was also featured on SBT TV’s Jovens Talentos Kids back in 2012! Keep on doin’ yo thang young lady! Don’t let the comments get to you; after all, it’s a part of Brazil!
Franciele Fernanda, from The Voice Kids, is a target of racism on the web
Franciele Fernanda, a contestant on The Voice Kids talent reality show, was a target of racism on the web

The young Franciele Fernanda da Silva Cruz, 14, suffered racist comments on social networks. She is a participant on The Voice Kids, a reality TV show on TV Globo, and the attacks occurred just after her debut on the show last Sunday (8).
Franciele Fernanda sang the song “Maria, Maria”, by Milton Nascimento, during the TV show. Soon after the performance was shown, she was praised by the artist on his Facebook profile. The offenses of an internet user occurred in the comments section online.
The singer opted not to remain silent and recorded, last Tuesday (10), a complaint against the internet user. “I saw the offenses and I was sad, but also outraged, so I told my mother that I wanted to make a complaint about this, and that other victims, like me, are inspired to denounce it also,” she said in an interview with G1.
The young woman is from Araputanga, Mato Grosso and has lived in Rio de Janeiro since February 2016. Since moving, she has never been in a situation like this, according to her mother, Irineia Prates da Silva, 35.
“I first thought it was a child thing, but when I saw that an adult man was doing it I was very shocked and I decided to support my daughter. We never went through it here or in our hometown, it’s all very sad,” her mother said.
See the original publication of Milton Nascimento and one of the offenses published by the internet user:

Milton Nascimento’s post translated
Franciele Fernanda, a young woman of Mato Grosso from Arapitanga, 14 years old, living in Vidigal, Rio, gave a show yesterday singing “Maria Maria” on the stage of The Voice Kids – Brasil! Congratulations girl! You thrilled us all! Dear Ivete Sangalo, our music sister, take good care of this pearl – she’s a rare Brazilian jewel! We’re in the fan section!!
Milton Nascimento condemns racism against ‘The Voice Kids’ contestant

Franciele Fernanda, who classified herself by singing ‘Maria, Maria’, was attacked on the internet; the singer said that the police should intervene
Courtesy of Correio Braziliense
The singer Milton Nascimento made a post on Facebook, on Wednesday (11) to comment on the racist offenses that the girl Franciele Fernanda, 14, a participant of The Voice Kids, suffered last Monday (9), on a social network. In the video, he repudiates any kind of prejudice and says that the police must intervene so that such behavior does not recur.

After the presentation of the girl on the program, when she sang the Milton song, “Maria Maria”, the singer himself praised her performance with a publication on Facebook. However, in reactions to this post, the girl was offended and called “neguinha.” “Music sister? What music? This neguinha can’t sing shit. The level of the Brazilian, regardless of the area, has become below criticism,” said one user.
‘The Voice Kids’ candidate who won over Milton is a target of racism

On Tuesday (10), Franciele and her mother, Irineia, went to the Computer Crime Repression Office in Rio de Janeiro to file a case against the Internet user. In an interview with G1, the singer said that she was very happy with Milton Nascimento’s post, but that she had been saddened by the offenses. The young girl from the city of Arapitanga, located in Mato Grosso chose to join the team of Bahian singer Ivete Sangalo, after she and the singer Carlinhos Brown turned their chairs in support of her audition.
Source: Cifras, UAI
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