71% of the municipalities neglect the law which obliges the teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture; experts say legislation can help secure rights
Ensuring broad racial-ethnic diversity and the inclusion of blacks in schools are old challenges in Brazilian basic education. Despite being the majority in the country, representing 56% of the population, according to Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)Blacks still face barriers to occupying spaces in the school environment and successfully completing their studies. This problem passes violation of Law 10.639/03which requires the teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture in schools.
Promulgated 20 years ago, in 2003, to date the law has been neglected by several Brazilian municipalities. Research from Alana and Geledés institutes showed that seven out of 10 municipal education departments take little or no action to implement legislation, which seeks to promote anti-racist education in schools. The study revealed that only 29% of secretariats carry out consistent and permanent actions to ensure the implementation of the law.
Although linked to curricular issues, according to experts, law 10.639 represented an important moment for Brazilian education, of enhancement of Afro-Brazilian culture and greater reflection on inclusion. From this initiative, public management and educational institutions have begun to think of the school environment as a space for the fight against racism and for raising awareness. This contributes to a more harmonious coexistence of people and a comprehensive education.
“When we have the construction of an imaginary about the importance of blacks in the social, economic and political construction of Brazil, we begin to value our culture and our history more. The law is a crucial tool for the development of more democratic public policies “, says Beatriz Benedito, public policy analyst at Instituto Alana.
To be more inclusive, the school must value the heritage of the Afro-Brazilian people in society and translate this proposal into concrete actions for students and teachers throughout the year, and not just one-off. This is what Míghian Danae, a professor at the Afro-Brazilian Lusophone Integration University on the Malês campus in São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, thinks.
“This debate is not optional, it has been mandatory since 2003. These changes must be reflected in the daily life of the school, and teachers must be trained to transmit this knowledge to students,” explains the researcher.
This work has been carried out since 2014 at the Municipal School of Early Childhood Education (EMEI) Carolina Maria de Jesus, for example, in São Paulo. Every year the children participate in a project whose objective is to present the diversity of the peoples that make up Brazil. Throughout the year, they research African ethnicities and indigenous peoples, then share the results with each other and the community.
Through tools such as jokes, games, literature and music, the institution seeks to raise awareness and educate students. “Thus, throughout the year, they develop a rich repertoire of references to indigenous and Afro-Brazilian ethnic groups. We want students to feel represented, allowing them to build a positive image of themselves and their peers right from the childhood,” reports Diego Benjamim Neves, director of the school and Masters in Education at the Federal University of São Paulo.
Another initiative in this sense is the distribution at school of images of black Brazilian personalities who have distinguished themselves in the most diverse fields, such as sport and music. “Each classroom door has a sticker with a photo and the name of a black writer, for example, artists and other important figures of our country,” says the educator.
The school has always had the support of the Municipal Education Department of São Paulo. According to Diego, the partnership with the agency is essential for the school. The secretariat organizes various events, such as lectures and teacher training courses, as well as providing important materials for administrators and teachers, with specific guidelines on racial-ethnic relations.
For João Paulo Cêpa, responsible for the articulation and advocacy of the Base Movement, public schools need the support of the secretariats to become more inclusive and diversified. “We need to look at school as part of a system. In this structure, the secretariat plays an important role, with the mission of strengthening schools, making the discourse on ethnic-racial relations something elementary in curricular planning. the government must assume this role, as well as provide technical and financial support to implement it in practice,” says the researcher.
At the beginning of May, the Pela Base Movement launched the e-book “Anti-racist education: what it is and how to put it into practice”, another material with the aim of guiding teachers, so that they deepen racial literacy and develop the debate in schools. The content brings references, reading tips, courses and webinars focused on the topic, with the aim of promoting compliance with Law 10.639.
The challenge of private schools
Even in private schools, the mission of inclusion must be something perennial and systematized. According to Professor Míghian, in order to move forward, it is important to involve private educational institutions in this debate and constantly monitor compliance with the legislation. For many years, the vast majority of schools took only one-off actions to address racial issues, mostly in the month of November, alluding to Black Consciousness – and in many cases still are.
However, some schools are already considering inclusion and the fight against racism as a key element in curriculum construction and pedagogical policy planning. In 2020, a group of families began mobilizing in São Paulo to implement concrete changes in schools in the capital, such as Vera Cruz, Santa Cruz, Oswald de Andrade, Escola da Vila, Gracinha, Equipe, among others.
In recent years, curricula have been reformulated, teachers and principals have undergone training, and institutions have begun to hire more Indigenous, Black and Black professionals, as well as providing scholarships to students belonging to these ethnicities, with tuition, material , transportation and tours paid for by the school.
Thayla, 14, Thavily (12) and Thayler (11) study at the Colégio Oswald de Andrade and entered thanks to a scholarship. This benefit began being offered in 2022, when eight fellows entered. Ten additional students with the help were considered this year, for a total of 18.
“Even in my dreams, I would never have imagined that my children could study in a school like Osvaldo. This project was a great initiative to guarantee education for low-income people and to involve us black people. We seized this opportunity with great affection and We were very well received. The school team has wonderful professionals, who always treat us as equals,” says Luciana Salles, day laborer and mother of the three children.
“Before the school was concerned with teaching Afro-Brazilian culture, but it was something episodic. Now it has become something institutionalized as a guiding principle of the school’s work, for all decisions and teaching plans”, explains Suelem Lima Benício, consultant for Education and Ethno-Racial Relations at Colégio Oswald. The Origens project was developed, which allowed for changes and was increasingly expanded.
At the Santa Cruz school, Santa Plural was created in 2020, a project that also seeks to expand racial diversity and build an anti-racist agenda at the institution. Among the initiatives, a scholarship program has been developed which offers 12 places a year. The project has the support of an association, made up of friends and family of the school community, which helps to bear the costs.
“We have literacy actions, with teacher training and reorganization of collections, as well as anti-racist actions, which seek to involve more indigenous and Afro-Brazilian students and professionals and affect the whole school,” says Débora Vaz, pedagogical director of la school.
Source: Terra
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