{"id":49510,"date":"2018-12-10T07:00:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T10:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=49510"},"modified":"2018-12-10T10:32:26","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T13:32:26","slug":"post-election-hangover-event-brings-together-black-community-to-discuss-the-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=49510","title":{"rendered":"‘Post-Election Hangover’ Event Brings Together Black Community for Post-Elections Debrief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Por<\/strong>tugu\u00eas<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On Saturday, November 23, Odarah Culture and Mission<\/a>\u00a0organized a discussion among some of the most vocal figures during the chaotic 2018 elections. Held at Lapa<\/a>‘s Center for the Theater of the Oppressed<\/a>, the discussion panel brought together Renata Souza<\/a>, a Rio de Janeiro state representative from the Socialism and Liberty Party<\/a> (PSOL); Thais Ferreira<\/a>, PSOL’s first alternate state representative; and\u00a0Jota Marques<\/a>, a community educator in City of God<\/a>\u00a0in Rio’s West Zone<\/a>. The event featured a powerful political-poetic intervention by\u00a0Gleyser Ferreira<\/a>\u2014described as a \u201cforce of nature\u201d by\u00a0Odarah\u2019s founder Fab\u00edola Oliveira, who also mediated the discussion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Discussion<\/b><\/h3>\n

The discussion achieved more than just its aim of analyzing the recent elections. Doing away with the kind of language usually associated with political debate, the conversation explored more personal issues and made way for reflections on life and death. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a conversation among black Brazilians, the discussion was more about death than life<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fab\u00edola Oliveira began: \u201cWe are dying. Killed either with a shot to the head or as the result of racist violence. How lucky we are to be here together. It is a blessing and a gift for us to be united here with one another.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Renata Souza of\u00a0Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0was elected state deputy with over 63,000 votes, making her the most-voted candidate from the PSOL. She reflected on the attitudes towards black female candidates that she came across in the run-up to the elections: \u201cAccording to the racist, sexist logic of political pragmatism, we, as black women, will always be in competition\u00a0<\/a>amongst ourselves for votes<\/a><\/span>. According to arguments like these, poor black women like us are all the same. But we were brave enough to prove this wrong. We ended up taking votes away from white men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Five state representatives were elected from Renata Souza\u2019s party. Of these five, three were black women from favelas: Renata Souza, M\u00f4nica Francisco, and Dani Monteiro<\/a>. And that\u2019s only including those who received more than 130,000 votes. As a result, perhaps one of the most positive lessons learned from the 2018 elections is that, contrary to common racist beliefs, there is, in fact, space for multiple black women in politics. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the racist, sexist logic of political pragmatism, we, as black women, will always be in competition amongst ourselves for votes<\/a>. According to arguments like these, poor black women like us are all the same. But we were brave enough to prove this wrong.\u201d \u2013 Renata Souza<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This goes against the notion that we can do away with structural racism in society by making room for black figures one at a time. How often do we hear about \u201cthe\u201d black writer, \u201cthe\u201d black journalist, or \u201cthe\u201d black actor? They\u2019re always the <\/span>first<\/span><\/i> one or the <\/span>only<\/span><\/i> one. Before Marielle Franco<\/a>, it was Jurema Batista<\/a>. And Benedita da Silva<\/a> before her. This is why the 2018 election was so special for Rio de Janeiro. This time, three black women from the Left were elected at once. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is perhaps the only cause for celebration following the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president and Wilson Witzel as governor, as well as the election of thirteen representatives from the Social Liberal Party (PSL) to the Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly (ALERJ)\u2014cause for concern among members of Rio\u2019s vulnerable communities. The black women who were elected as state deputies overcame the fear and suffering inflicted upon their communities and put themselves forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the context of the current narrative of Marielle as the “seed” that gave way to this movement, Oliveira warned of a pitfall: \u201cIt’s important we don\u2019t fall into the trap, fomented by [the dominant culture of] whiteness, that leads us to believe that the appearance of these women was sparked by Marielle\u2019s death. In reality, the continuous struggle of black movements in marginalized spaces gave rise to Marielle, Renata Souza, Thais Ferreira, and Dani Monteiro. This movement is the result of the efforts of those who came before us. Marielle didn\u2019t just appear in 2016, she had been involved in the struggle for a long time.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Thais Ferreira\u2019s success was perhaps the most surprising of all the black female candidates. She won 24,759 votes without any financial backing from the party\u2014more than well-known figures in the party like Jean Wyllys, who was re-elected to federal Congress with 24,294 votes. Accompanied by her sons Jo\u00e3o, 2, and Athos, 5, Ferreira spoke of her initial concerns about getting involved in Rio\u2019s political scene. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was very worried back then because of my children. It was difficult to find the courage to speak. There I was, placing myself in danger when what I want most is to be able to watch my children grow up and leave a legacy that they can continue. If I can run for office, if I can become the first alternate state representative, then my son can then go on to become president. But when he\u2019s elected president, I don\u2019t want him to be bitter. That\u2019s why we need politics to heal us. It\u2019s not about being joyful. We\u2019re not here to play around. We\u2019re here to form a quilombo <\/em>[a space of black resistance]. We need politics to heal us,\u201d Ferreira said. While she spoke about death and danger, her kids ran around, brimming with life. On a few occasions, they even managed to distract from the seriousness of her words. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need politics to heal us.\u201d \u2013 Thais Ferreira<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jota Marques, who works as a public educator in City of God and who was the only man on a panel otherwise comprised of women, took his role in the discussion seriously. Marques believes in education as a force for change<\/a> and stressed the importance of engaging with micropolitics within education and in favelas. He openly criticized the Escola Sem Partido<\/a> (“Schools Without Political Parties”) movement to remove all political debate from schools, saying: \u201cWhen I visit a school, it\u2019s crazy. There are all these kids in different groups, and you see the most vulnerable students, including women, suffering from violence. Then comes ‘Schools Without Political Parties’ to further fragment things, making them unable to relate to one another. It\u2019s not about finding common ground. You end up with an even less structured educational process, reinforcing kids’ belief that the violence that they endure and practice is okay. So when we discuss the political process for the black community, we do so against a backdrop of chaos.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Odarah Culture and Mission<\/b><\/h3>\n

While Fab\u00edola Oliveira originally founded Odarah with the aim of allowing black entrepreneurs to sell their wares and share their experiences with one another, she recalls that a particular incident changed this. Nowadays, Odarah is more than just a meeting place for the entrepreneurs\u2014who would gather there with their earrings, <\/span>capulana<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0sarongs, sweets,\u00a0and books. The focus is now on discussing emergencies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Odarah Culture and Mission also has a base in Taquara<\/a>, in the West Zone, at the house where Oliveira lives with her partner. Described as a direct action program for vulnerable youth from favelas, socio-educational juvenile detention centers, and shelters in Rio de Janeiro, Odarah can be seen as a sort of\u00a0quilombo<\/em>. \u201cThe quilombos<\/em> were places where the wounds of our enslaved brothers and sisters were healed after they had fled their masters. They were also fed and many of them then went on to form their own resistance groups. This is what micropolitics is about\u2014generating and sharing knowledge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about the future of the black community, Oliveira replied, \u201cI expect the worst to happen. It\u2019s a difficult question for me to answer because I\u2019m a pessimist. I don\u2019t have my fingers crossed. I expect the worst. We can see policy changes and escalating tensions affecting minorities across the world. Brazil isn\u2019t an isolated case. The masked racism we see in Brazil is the worst kind. And if things do get worse, we won\u2019t have anywhere to run to\u2014we\u2019ll need to stand together as a community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rithyele Dantas is a journalism student from Morro da Cruz in\u00a0Andara\u00ed<\/a>. Dantas is a photojournalist and has worked as a community educator and parliamentary assistant in Rio. She is also founder of the blog\u00a0Jornalistas Pretas<\/a>, a project she believes vital to guaranteeing human rights.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas On Saturday, November 23, Odarah Culture and Mission\u00a0organized a discussion among some of the most vocal figures during the chaotic 2018 elections. Held at Lapa‘s Center for the Theater of the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":49511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2689,1668,1328,1333,329],"tags":[2069,2864,1041,231,2693,280,2863,397,595,445,2211,436,1902,2345,2449,2800,2865,2217,1189,2733,1474],"writer":[2765],"translator":[2861],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-49510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mariellelegacy","8":"category-participationwatch","9":"category-by-community-contributors","10":"category-event-reports","11":"category-solutions","12":"tag-alerj","13":"tag-benedita-da-silva","14":"tag-black-awareness-month","15":"tag-city-of-god","16":"tag-civil-rights-movement","17":"tag-complexo-da-mare","18":"tag-dani-monteiro","19":"tag-education","20":"tag-elections","21":"tag-entrepreneurship","22":"tag-favela-representation-in-politics","23":"tag-gender","24":"tag-human-rights-day","25":"tag-lapa","26":"tag-marielle-franco","27":"tag-monica-francisco","28":"tag-movimento-negro","29":"tag-psol","30":"tag-racism","31":"tag-renata-souza","32":"tag-theatre-of-the-oppressed","33":"writer-rithyele-dantas","34":"translator-elfie-lawson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49510"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=49510"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=49510"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=49510"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=49510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}