São Caetano do Sul wants to eliminate terms like ‘black market’

2023-06-09 01:25:51

The City Hall of São Caetano do Sul, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, wants to eliminate some terms from its teaching network. In the crosshairs are, for example, expressions such as “black market” and “bad hair”. To this end, the agency began distributing an “anti-racist booklet” in municipal schools. The information was released on Wednesday 7.

“Black list” and “white envy” are other examples of the 36 expressions considered racists and therefore not advised in the booklet Racist Expressions: Why Not to Use. “Expressions like that are so common in our vocabulary, and have been said for so long, that many people don’t even realize the high level of racism they contain,” said the city hall of the municipality of São Paulo.

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“This is a document constructed collaboratively by professionals who have been dedicated to the study of decolonial thought”, informs the Secretary of Education of São Caetano do Sul, Minéa Fratelli. Decolonial is basically replacing concepts considered European or white.

Practices considered anti-racist will be taken to the school. This will even happen in the “learning of babies, children and young people, in addition to a truly equitable education”, explains the city hall.

In addition to the booklet, São Caetano do Sul City Hall also has an anti-racist exhibition | Photo: Letícia Teixeira / PMSCS

One of the expressions considered racist by the booklet of São Caetano do Sul is “nightstand”. However, there is no confirmation of the racist origin of this term. People who link “nightstand” with racism associate the term with slaves who did jobs silently, without attracting attention.

However, “at the time of slavery, there is no evidence that nightstands were used for this purpose”, said the historian and creator of the podcast Black History, Thiago André, to CNN Brasil. A likely origin for the term “maid-mute” is the English translation of “dumbwaiter”, a small elevator for transporting food. Also according to Thiago André, “silent table” did not exist in the 1890 Dictionary of the Portuguese Language.

the mayor of Sao Caetano do Sul, José Auricchio Júnior (PSDB), said that “it is not enough just to say you are against racism”. “We really need to fight it,” he added. In addition to the booklet, the toucan management initiatives against racism include the exhibition Blacks That Inhabit Usby artist Joyce Cristina Fesan Rodrigues, available until June 19th.

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