Do Black Lives Matter in Brazil?

Two cases have become emblematic for understanding the intensification of racism and sexism in Brazilian society during the pandemic that killed more than 650,000 Brazilians and since the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil. One is the first death by COVID-19 recorded in Brazil, a Black a domestic worker, 63 years old, infected by her employer; the other is the death of 5-year-old Miguel Otávio when he fell from the 5th floor of the building where his mother worked.

Throughout this period, Black women's movements carried out various face-to-face activities. They acted strongly through social networks, conducting campaigns to collect resources, clothes, and food and denouncing the violence and the neglect of President Bolsonaro's government concerning public policies to combat the pandemic. They participated in the political campaigns of Black women in the 2020 elections, such as the Marielle Franco Forum, ENEGRECER a Política, Black Women Decide, and Eu Voto em Negra.

This presentation considers the political setbacks and loss of rights in recent years and addresses the Brazilian socio-political context and the political response of Black feminist organizations. Dr. Angela Figueiredo will focus mainly on processes of knowledge production, institutional political dispute, and the confrontation of political gender violence. The data presented result from effective participation as an activist and researcher and the analysis of social media cards, lives, seminars, and webinars produced in the last two years.

The session will be opened with a welcome by Ernesto E. Bassi, Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Cornell University. Dr. Figueiredo will be introduced by Carole Elizabeth Boyce-Davies, Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters in the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Africana Studies and Literatures in English at Cornell University. This event is a LACS Public Issues Forum being done in collaboration with the African Diaspora Knowledge Exchange Project.