Published on July 25, 2024 at 09:07 AM.
Learn about some of the Black women who stood out in the struggle for racial equality and women’s rights in Brazil
In honor of the struggle and resistance of Black women, July 25 is celebrated as the International Day of Afro-Latin American and Caribbean Black Women. In Brazil, the date also honors Tereza de Benguela, known as “Queen Tereza,” who lived in the 18th century in the Guaporé Valley (MT) and led the Quilombo de Quariterê.
According to documents of the time, the place housed more than 100 people, including Indigenous individuals. Her leadership was marked by the creation of a sort of Parliament and a system for the protection of the quilombola population. Tereza was killed after being captured by soldiers. The National Day of Tereza de Benguela and Black Women was established in Brazil by Law 12.987/2014.
The International Day of Afro-Latin American and Caribbean Black Women was established by the United Nations (UN) and originated during the 1st Meeting of Afro-Latino-American and Afro-Caribbean Women, held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1992. The event brought together more than 300 representatives from various countries to share their experiences, denounce oppression, and discuss strategies for fighting racism and machismo.
The dates, included in the ANDES-SN calendar, bring visibility to the struggle of Black women in defense of rights and against gender oppression, exploitation, and racism.
Learn more about some of the Black women who stood out in the struggle for racial equality and women’s rights:
Xica Manicongo
Xica Manicongo lived in the 16th century and is recognized as Brazil’s first non-Indigenous transgender person. She was enslaved, brought to the country, and sold to a shoemaker in Salvador (BA). Xica was prosecuted by the Portuguese Inquisition on the charge of sodomy and for participating in “a gang of sodomite sorcerers.” In reality, she was criminalized for her gender identity, reflecting a trajectory that continues to persist for the trans and transgender population in Brazil. Her story symbolizes the struggle of Brazilian trans women for the right to memory and recognition in the fight against gender and sexual oppression.
Dandara
Dandara dos Palmares was a warrior and quilombo leader who fought against slavery and for the freedom of Black individuals through confrontations and resistance strategies for the liberation of enslaved people in the 17th century. She mastered capoeira techniques and fought alongside men and women against various attacks on the Quilombo dos Palmares. She was the partner of Zumbi dos Palmares, with whom she had three children. With the Dutch invasion, attacks on the quilombola territory increased, and Dandara was captured. In 1694, preferring death to slavery, she jumped from a quarry to avoid being captured by white slaveholders.
Tereza de Benguela
Tereza de Benguela, known as “Queen Tereza” (18th century), lived in the Guaporé Valley (MT). She led the Quilombo de Quariterê after the death of her partner, José Piolho, who was murdered by soldiers. The quilombo housed over 100 people, including Black and Indigenous individuals, and resisted from the 1730s until the end of the century. Her leadership was highlighted by the creation of a sort of Parliament and a defense system. There are no precise records of her death; one version suggests that she was captured and killed by soldiers in 1770. July 25 is officially, in Brazil, the National Day of Tereza de Benguela and Black Women.
Esperança Garcia
Esperança Garcia, an enslaved woman, lived in the 18th century in Piauí. In 1770, she wrote a letter denouncing the violent situations that enslaved people suffered on the Algodões farm, 300 kilometers from the future capital, Teresina. The document, addressed to the then governor of the province, was later recognized as one of the first legal petitions in Brazil, after a copy of the letter was found in the public archives of Piauí. This letter is seen as a symbol of resistance and boldness in the fight for rights within the context of slave Brazil. In 2022, the Brazilian Bar Association recognized Esperança Garcia as the first lawyer in the country.
Luísa Mahin
Luísa Mahin, a Black African warrior from the Nagô – Jeje Nation, was a symbol of resistance against slavery in the 19th century. She purchased her freedom in 1812 and was one of the leaders and organizers of the Revolt of Malês in 1835 and the Sabinada in 1837. As a street vendor by profession, she used her stand to distribute messages in Arabic. She always refused baptism and Christian doctrine. One of her sons, Luís Gama, became a poet and one of Brazil’s greatest abolitionists. After being discovered, Luísa fled to Rio de Janeiro, where she was found, detained, and possibly deported to Angola, although there are no documents to prove this information.
Maria Felipa
Maria Felipa de Oliveira, who lived in the 19th century, was a heroine of resistance in the struggle for Brazil’s Independence, particularly recognized for her actions on the island of Itaparica (BA). A freed enslaved woman, Maria lived on the island with other freed men and women. They relied on gathering shellfish, fishing, and preparing bread and snacks to sell at local fairs and nearby shops. Maria led a group of 200 people, including Black and Indigenous women, in ambushes against the Portuguese, setting fire to enemy vessels and defending the cause of freedom. Her courage and leadership marked her as a key figure in the history of Bahian independence.
Almerinda Farias Gama
Almerinda Farias Gama (1899-1999) was a lawyer, journalist, unionist, translator, and feminist activist, pioneering the struggle for women’s rights and racial equality. As a member of the Brazilian Federation for Women’s Progress, she played a crucial role alongside other women in securing the right to vote for women in Brazil. Gama was one of the first Black women to engage in politics in the early 20th century. She founded the Typists’ and Stenographers’ Union of the Federal District, and as a representative of this Union, she was the only woman to participate as a class delegate in the National Constituent Assembly of 1933. She remained active until the promulgation of the Constitution in October 1934.
Antonieta de Barros
Antonieta de Barros played a fundamental role in Brazilian history. Born in 1901, this Brazilian journalist and politician was the first Black woman elected state deputy in Brazil in 1934. A pioneer in the fight for education and combating racial and gender discrimination, she created the Antonieta de Barros Private Course focused on adult literacy. Her journey was marked by a defense of education as a tool for emancipation and citizenship. She is known for fighting for her ideals in a context where women had no right to express their opinions. Antonieta de Barros died on March 18, 1952, at the age of 50.
Laudelina de Campos
Born in 1904 and the granddaughter of enslaved people, Laudelina de Campos Melo dropped out of school at 12 years old after her father died in a work accident, taking care of her five younger siblings. At 16, she was elected president of the 13 de Maio Club, which promoted recreational activities for the Black population in her city. She played a marked role in popular and political movements, and in 1936, helped to found the Association of Domestic Workers in Santos (SP). In addition to fighting for the rights of domestic workers, she became involved in the Black movement and participated in various cultural groups. Laudelina passed away in 1991 in Campinas (SP).
Carolina de Jesus
Carolina Maria de Jesus (1914 – 1977) was a prominent Brazilian writer who worked as a collector of recyclable materials. She kept magazines and notebooks she found in the trash and collected over 20 notebooks at home with reports about life in the favela. One of them gave rise to her most famous book, “Quarto de Despejo: Diário de uma Favelada.” Carolina became an icon of resistance and perseverance, being one of the first Black writers to achieve international recognition. Through her writing, Carolina revealed the importance of testimony as a means of denouncing social inequality and racial prejudice.
Lélia Gonzalez
Daughter of a Black railway worker and an Indigenous domestic worker, Lélia Gonzalez was born in 1934 and stood out as an intellectual, anthropologist, and Brazilian activist in the fight for the rights of Black women and racial equality. A university professor, she was one of the founders of the Unified Black Movement (MNU) and the N’Zinga Black Women’s Collective. Her works and actions have had a significant impact in combating racism and sexism in Brazil. She passed away in 1994, and much of her work was out of print for some years; however, she is now undergoing a process of recovering her legacy and work. Lélia is remembered as a powerful voice in defense of Afro-Brazilian identity and culture.
Marielle Franco
Marielle Franco was born in 1979 and was a Brazilian politician who represented a series of minorities throughout her political life. Black, a woman, a mother, a feminist, poor, raised in a favela, and LGBTQI+, Marielle was elected councilwoman of the City Council of Rio de Janeiro and also president of the Women’s Commission of the Council. She completed her master’s degree in Public Administration at UFF, with a dissertation entitled “UPP: the reduction of the favela to three letters.” On March 14, 2018, Marielle Franco was assassinated in an attack against the car she was in with her driver, Anderson Gomes. Those who ordered her death did not realize that she was a seed and would continue to inspire millions of people around the world.
Conceição Evaristo
Conceição Evaristo, born in 1946, is a Brazilian writer and essayist recognized for her engaged literature that addresses issues of race, gender, and class. To balance her studies, she worked as a domestic worker. The author of works such as “Ponciá Vicêncio” and “Becos da Memória,” Evaristo gives voice to the experiences and lives of Black women in Brazil. Her literary work has been fundamental for the recognition of Afro-Brazilian literature in the national and even international scene, with books translated into other languages. She has received several awards, including the Jabuti, the most important literary award in Brazil, in the Short Stories and Chronicles category for the book Olhos d’água. This year, she was elected an immortal member of the Minas Gerais Academy of Letters, being the first Black woman to occupy a chair in the AML. Evaristo has also opened spaces for other Black women to stand out in the literary world.
With information from Fundação Palmares, Senate Agency, Ministry of Racial Equality, Instituto Esperança Garcia, and FGV.