Books for Black Consciousness Day

Last night I took part in a strutting street parade to mark the anniversary of the death of Zumbi dos Palmares.

Today, 20th November, is Black Consciousness Day in Brazil (Dia de Consciência Negra). This year a record 225 Brazilian cities declared the date a municipal bank holiday. It’s a small number but significant as in 2007 local authorities are slowly, very slowly, beginning to implement a law passed in 2003, making it obligatory for all schools in Brazil to include Afro-Brazilian history on the curriculum (law no. 10.639 – 9/01/2003 – read more about this law in English here).

As this blog is principally about books and is principally aimed at English speakers in Brazil, I want to recommend some great books available on Afro-Brazilian themes for kids, i.e. in very simple Portuguese – ideal for English speakers learning Portuguese:

Zumbi, O Último Herói dos Palmares by Carla Caruso (Callis) is an introduction to the warrier Zumbi, who led Quilombo Palmares in the battle for freedom.

For children’s short stories, check out Historias da Preta by Heloisa Pires Lima (Companhia das Letrinhas).

What colour is the black girl?
She is brown. She’s the colour of the eyes of her parents.
Where is she from?
She’s from here, from Brazil. But, in a way, she’s from the other side of the ocean – from Africa, the first house of the black people.

The image for this post is the cover of Sikulume e Outros Contos Africanos by Júlio Emílio Braz (Pallas) – A beautiful book, with more stories stories stories for you to learn Portuguese by…

And for the story of capoeira, one of the best children’s books of 2007:
José Moçambique e a Capoeira by Joaquim de Almeida, Laura Beatriz and Theza Almeida (Companhia das Letrinhas)

Play with the others, not against them. This is the basis of capoeira, a mixture of dance and fight developed in Brazil by African slaves as a form of resistance against opression. An art, considered a crime in the time of slavery…

This book is worth it just for the illustrations, and for the part in the story where the little boy runs towards the port, listening to a sound which grows louder the nearer he gets:

Tchim tchim tim

Dom dom

Tchim tchim tim

Dom dom

Tchim tchim tim

Dom dom.

And if you live in Brazil and don’t know what the sound is, you need to read this book!