O Black conscience day is a date celebrated in Brazil on the day November 20th. This day is included in the Black Consciousness week and aims to reflect on the introduction of blacks into Brazilian society.
The 20th of November was chosen as a tribute to Zumbi dos Palmares, the date on which he died, fighting for the freedom of his people in Brazil, in 1695. Zumbi, leader of Quilombo dos Palmares, was a character who dedicated his life to fighting the slavery in the colonial Brazil period, where slaves began to be introduced around 1594. A quilombo is a region whose function was to fight against slavery doctrines and also to conserve elements of African culture in Brazil.
In 2003, on January 9, Law 10,639 included the National Day of Black Awareness in the school calendar. The same law makes teaching in different areas of Afro-Brazilian history and culture mandatory. Topics such as the struggle of black people in Brazil, black Brazilian culture, black people in the national society, insertion of black people in the labor market, discrimination, identification of ethnic groups, etc. are addressed.
Learn more about the meanings of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and ethnicity.
In English, the literal translation of Black Consciousness Day would be "Black Awareness Day". However, in the United States and Canada there is the "Black History Month" (Black History Month), which is celebrated every year in February.
Holiday on Black Consciousness Day
In 2011, President Dilma Roussef sanctioned law 12,519/2011, which created the date, but which does not require it to be a holiday. This means that whether it is a holiday or not will vary from city to city. Black Consciousness Day is a holiday in more than 800 Brazilian cities.
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