Black Consciousness is a term that gained notoriety in the 1970s, in Brazil, due to the struggle of social movements that worked for racial equality, such as the Movimento Negro Unidos. The term is, at the same time, a reference and a tribute to the ancestral culture of the people of African origin, who were brought by force and harshly enslaved for centuries in Brazil. It's the symbol of struggle, resistance and the awareness that blackness is not inferior and that blacks have their value and their place in society.
Read too: Abolitionist laws - way to carry out the gradual transition to the abolition of slavery
![Zumbi dos Palmares is a representative figure for the Black Consciousness as it symbolizes struggle and resistance. [1]](/f/81714dfdc21fd0af5cd7ede80cc8dabb.jpg)
What is black consciousness?
Many people erroneously say that one should not celebrate black consciousness, but human consciousness. This, however, is an idea that may have come up with good intentions, but ended up doing a disservice to fight against the racism and in favor of racial equality
. Historically, society has sustained itself through an unequal relationship between people due to various factors. The main factors of inequality are:- gender;
- skin color;
- sexuality;
- socioeconomic status.
Traditionally the spaces of power of society they are reserved for straight, cisgender, white, and rich men. Even in the so-called micro-relationships, in small everyday power relations, the tendency is that:
- men have more power and social privilege in relation to women;
- straight people also have it in relation to the LGBTQ+ population;
- whites also have this privilege and this disproportionate power in relation to the black population.
This evidences, from a materialist reading of history, that social relationships are unequal and that it is necessary to correct this distortion for society to evolve.
To bring the richness of African culture to people of African descent from countries colonized by Europeans (and also to the people themselves Africans, who still suffer the consequences of exploitative colonialism on their continent), Martinican poet and writer Aimé Césaire created the term blackness, who became a literary current and a cultural movement. The idea is that there is a cultural essence (blackness) in all the descendants of Africans who suffered the diaspora forced by Europeans. The idea of a black conscience does not arise, exactly, from the concept of blackness, but it has a lot to do with it.
For unify the black people around his struggle against centuries of enslavement and after the abolition of slavery in Brazil, people started to think about a way to unite the black population and make her aware of her culture, the daily struggle of black people and the value of being black. The objective is still similar to that of blackness, but it goes beyond that, as it indicates to black people that, although they do not occupy many prominent places in society dominated by white people, they deserve prominence for their intense fight.
Black consciousness is this: a mix of awareness of the importance of black in society, of recognition of the value, culture and struggle of black people who did not shut up and raised their heads against racism. Despite the black protagonism in this consciousness - which is more than an idea or concept, it is a kind of practice that gives "movement" to social movements — we can expect that, out of the clash with black consciousness, white people will rethink their practices.
![Aimé Césaire, one of the founders of blackness. [2]](/f/956732b37d813d78d9ac9efddbc07ec5.jpg)
Creation of black consciousness
O human brain it has an immense plastic capacity to adapt to situations and mold them so that they are in accordance with what human beings want. Thus, the human being has something that is perhaps unique among other animals: consciousness. The animal has sentience, an ability to perceive itself in the world from the body's senses, self-image, bodily needs and even feelings. However, the human being perceives himself as a being in the world who can change it and who thinks about his existence. This is what conscience assures us: think about our existence and, with that, we become living beings.
For existentialist philosophers, our existence precedes our essence. This means that it is by living that we are created. too it is in this vital movement that we create our consciousness, which is that ability to think about existence and perceive oneself as a being in the world and capable of modifying the world. All of this makes up a complex network of meanings that shapes us as beings and is not simple to be perceived.
For an individual who suffers exploitation against his social class, the exploration of his work, perceive himself as an exploited being, he needs to be aware that what is done with him is not right. The same goes for the woman, who, to realize that the culture that placed her as an inferior being, fragile (even even an object of men) is wrong, it needs to be aware that it is the culture that is wrong, not it same. This is also true for blacks: structural racism is internalized by the people who suffer from it, which makes it seem normal to be historically discriminated against. However, the creation of black consciousness in the person makes her realize she's not wrong for being who she is, but it's the society who is wrong to discriminate against her.
When black people (as well as women, the LGBTQ+ population, the disabled and other historically discriminated minorities) become aware of their value and importance, they are empowered. The opposite causal movement also happens: the more the black person is empowered, the more he becomes aware of his value. However, this black consciousness is not created out of nothing in the individual. It is necessary for empowered people to show other people that they too can create this awareness. It is necessary that the education offered in schools is of equality. and that the appreciation of black culture be taught. It is necessary that black people are shown in spaces of power and representation, such as the black hero and the black heroine, the black president and the black president, etc.
It is necessary deconstruct a subordinate role which has always been attributed to the black population and to show more and more empowered blacks in media spaces, so that they can serve as inspiration for others who have not yet been empowered.
Read too: Three great black Brazilian abolitionists
history of black consciousness
In Brazil, the history of black consciousness culminated in the creation of the National Day of Black Consciousness, a date that celebrates blackness and the struggle of the black population of our country. However, the story behind this is longer. Still in the 19th century, freed blacks and their children, many of whom had the opportunity to study (such as lawyer and journalist Luiz Gama, the patron of the abolition of slavery in Brazil), boosted the abolitionist movement, which advocated for the end of slavery in our country. parents.
White intellectuals and politicians also endorsed the movement. At the May 13, 1888, no longer able to resist the internal pressure of the abolitionist movement, nor the external pressure promoted mainly by England, the Princess Isabel signed the Golden Law, abolishing slavery in our country.
The trajectory of the freed former slaves was not an easy one. They were not entitled to land or any type of compensation. They began to live on the margins of society, starting the difficult trajectory of the black population after abolition in our country. Even making up a mostly poor and marginalized community, black culture, with its rich African roots, continued to develop.
In 1971, professor, writer, researcher and black activist Oliveira Silveira organized a group of study and appreciation of black culture and literature in Porto Alegre with other people interested in the subject matter. The group proposed the creating a commemorative date that would symbolize the unity and struggle of the black people. November 20 was chosen because it was the day of the death of Zumbi dos Palmares, a personality considered a symbol of struggle and resistance against slavery.
The group suffered some persecution because, at the time of its birth, Brazil was at the height of the so-called lead years of the Military Dictatorship. However, the social movements that acted in defense of the black population grew more and more in our country. In 1978, the United Negro Movement (MNU) was created in Brazil..
In 1988 the current federal Constitution from our country, nicknamed by Deputy Ulysses Guimarães as Citizen Constitution. She received this affectionate nickname because it was the result of an intense popular consultation from various sectors of society, represented by deputies and social movements that were able to participate in the sessions of creation and voting of the text constitutional. One of the principles established in the constitution is the equality and the veto of discrimination for any reason, including racial.
In 1989 the Law No. 7716 of January 5, 1989, which provides against racial prejudice, making discrimination of race, color, religion or nationality a crime subject to criminal punishment.
Between legal clashes, laws and the struggle of movements, the feeling of empowerment and the need to celebrate Africanity grew more and more, increasing the need to create a law that would set the proposed date in the 1970s as a date commemorative.
See too: How was the life of ex-slaves after the Golden Law?
Black conscience and the Zumbi dos Palmares
Zumbi dos Palmares he is considered one of the greatest representative personalities of the strength and struggle of the black population in our country. Very little is known about Zumbi's history, including many data are pointed out as legends. However, the Zombie representation puts him as a hero and unites the black community in defense of their values and culture.
Zombie would have led for years the Quilombo dos Palmares, a complex of quilombos in the Serra da Barriga region. At the time, the region belonged to the Captaincy of Pernambuco, and is currently the state of alagoas.
Data indicate that Zumbi's death would have occurred on November 20, 1695, in combat and flight. Hence the choice of November 20th as the celebration date for the National Day of Black Consciousness in Brazil.
Black conscience day
Law No. 12,519, of November 10, 2011, established the day November 20th as National Black Consciousness Day. It is a day focused on reflection on what drives the creation of the date. November 20 is not a national holiday, but some states and municipalities have adopted the date as a holiday.
Image credits
[1] Rodrigo S Coelho / Shutterstock
[2] Chris Allan / Shutterstock
by Francisco Porfirio
Sociology Professor
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/sociologia/consciencia-negra.htm
