For the first time in Brazil, two black journalists will host a news program together
It’s shameful that in this day and age we can still point out events when a black woman, man or child is recognized for being the first of their race to have done this or that. But there are still so many areas in which we can see this or are still waiting for this to happen in a giving area. The media is an excellent example of this.
While the presence in the mainstream media is still rather minuscule, there have been and are a number of well-known and respected Afro-Brazilian journalists, both male and female. But I don’t ever remember seeing two black journalists co-host a news program on a major television network. I still remember all of fuss that was made when Maria Júlia Coutinho became the first black woman to host the weather reported on Globo TV’s top-rated news program, Jornal Nacional.
But typically, in Brazil’s media, having a small minority of Afro-Brazilians on a television production is pretty standard procedure. There have to be one, two or a handful so that no one can say there aren’t any black folks on TV, but they’ll always be outnumbered by persons with a European appearance by a count of something like 5-10 to 1. Well, unless it’s a novela based in the era of slavery. You’ll see plenty of black folks in those productions, even if they’re mostly extras.
Of course, when I usually speak of Brazil’s mainstream media here, the big three, Globo, Record and SBT, are the usual suspects. But the airwaves have a number of other networks, including Rede TV!, which is the focus of today’s post.
My sources are telling me that, tomorrow night, Saturday, August 4th, at 9:30pm, the network will make history by presenting a black journalist couple as hosts of a news program when Luciana Camargo and Rodrigo Cabral will sit side by side and present the Rede TV! News.
The funny thing is, often when I’m returning home and I stop off at auntie’s house, she and her husband are usually watching Rede TV News and I always happen to catch the segment when the black weather girl presents forecasts. Every time I see her I wonder, “who is she?” I happened to search for her online yesterday and discover that her name is, you guessed it, Luciana Camargo. She is Rede TV’s regular weather girl and occasionally fills in as news host when the regulars Amanda Klein and Boris Casoy are away.
On Saturday, Luciana will team with Rodrigo Cabral, a journalist from Rede TV’s affiliate station in the city of Belo Horizonte who will come to São Paulo for this special assignment.
And what a special assignment it is! A historic mark in Brazil’s history of journalism. Two black hosts presenting the news at the same time. It only took about 60 years, so what’s the big deal?
Brazil is behind in terms of racial progress that is unassailable. I understand the country was the last in the Americas to end slavery (May1888) but even honey or molasses has more speed than Brazil. Come on, I mean the significance of this may be viewed in Brazil as some sort of long overdue progression the people of Brazil particularly Afro-Brazilians please do not hop on their bandwagon for any reason. Protest and March with your dollars (Reais) in a way that’s beneficial to the group e.g. here in America there is buy black movement (somewhat ) catching some steam brothers and sisters realize from a grassroots perspective its easy to begin and just branch out into smaller businesses that eventually expand. Listen, just recently Apple became the first American company to reach a Trillion dollars ( Market value) Apple wouldn’t achieve that feat without Afro-Americans and other non-white groups I say that to suggest we never exclude anyone that’s not of African descent from a monetary aspect. This network Rede TV is pulling an old tactic to get large black viewership by employing two Afro-Brazilian journalists unfortunately it seems to work. We fall for it a lot in North America first “black” this first “black” that and it never gets bored we love the symbolism of false achievement only reaching the stain glass ceiling to not break through it.
Good article as usual!!
Wwww×
Merriweather you are point about race relation in brazil and USA Brazil is way behind USA in race slave ended in the USA 1865 vs brazil 1888. 1860. Black pop in USA was 4.4 millions 3.9 million were eenslaved 1860 USA held 60% of the western hemisphere. Slave populaton slavery still exied in Cuba and proto rico.1860 USA 488.070 Free blacks
Brazil before the end 1888 1872 4.25millions free black in brazil by 1775 over third of all African brazilian in city Salvador were free in rio 1834 More the quater afro brazilian were free black by 1870 15 % afro brazilian in brazil were enslaved the rest were free agro brazilian
Slavery official ended in USA 1864 with 13 amendment slavery was abolished but unless punishment for a crime. With the black codes( before jim crow) and peonage( prison labor read the book slavery by another name) help rebuild the. South after civil war jim crow law force black back into same condition as slavery so you can honesty tell me slavery end usa in 1865
Great, what took them so long. So sad that Brazil is way behind, when most of the majority of people are black