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actual bank holiday
More than half of the citizens of São Paulo, Brazil celebrate November 20th as “National Black Consciousness Day (Dia da Consciência Negra),” the editors of the Brazilian website Afropress.com have declared .
In Salvador da Bahia, where the entire month is being celebrated as “Black November,” 80 thousand people are expected to take part in a “Freedom Walk” on Tuesday, November 20th. But in São Paulo - which is both Brazil's most populous city and the city with the largest population of people of African descent ParadaBlack.jpgoutside of Africa - preparations are underway for what’s expected to be a major march along the Avenida Paulista, it is being called the Marcha da Consciência Negra/Black Consciousness March or Parada Negra/Black Parade. Contingents from various other cities are on their way to São Paulo to take part in the parade.
Parada Negra participants
(Afropress.com photo)
Government-sponsored recognitions will also take place. Radiobrás, the national radio agency, is planning a week of special programs on the subject of racism in Brazil and it will look at efforts to promote racial equality. The Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) has noted that the holiday is already so well recognized that banks in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Campinas, Marabá and Vilhena will all be closed on Tuesday, November 20 as each of those cities recognize the day as a bank holiday.
Established under law number 10.639 in 2003, the Dia da Consciência Negra recalls the life of Zumbi who, on November 20, 1695, was betrayed by a follower, captured by Brazil’s Portuguese soldiers and beheaded. Zumbi was a leader of the quilombo of Palmares – a community of self-liberated Afro Brazilians who had fled from the sugar plantations in Pernambuco. Brazil’s Black movement has used the image of Zumbi as a symbol to promote the idea of resistance and independence for its community.
Afro Brazilian Senator Paulo Paim, PauloPaim.jpgwho is also chair of the nation’s Commission on Human Rights, has proposed legislation to make the Dia da Consciência Negra a national holiday. Sen. Paim is collecting signatures on an online petition for those who support a Statute of Racial Equality that would enforce a Brazil without racism.
Senator Paulo Paim
The marches, petitions, parades and celebrations this year will merely foreshadow events due to take place next year, when Afro Brazilians commemorate 2008 as the 120th anniversary of the abolition of African slavery in their country.
“In Brazil, the Dia da Consciência Negra is a holiday in some 5,561 cities. This means the day will be respected by 40.3 million people – or nearly 22 percent of Brazil’s 183.4 million citizens,” Afropress.com notes. Afro-Brazilians are 49.5 percent of Brazil’s population.
Brazilian Black Consciousness Day
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 18, 2009
The United States Government and the American people congratulate the people of Brazil as they recognize Black Consciousness Day, also known as Zumbi dos Palmares Day, on November 20. The life of Quilombo leader Zumbi and his unrelenting struggle against slavery stands as an enduring symbol of freedom and justice.
Today, both Brazil and the United States recognize the important contributions of Afro-descendants in our societies and the imperative of combating discrimination, which has negatively impacted both of our countries. Just last month, our governments, in partnership with civil society and our private sectors, met for the third time in Salvador da Bahia under the historic U.S. – Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality. Together we are celebrating the diversity of our heritage and developing and sharing best practices to ensure equal opportunity for Afro-descendants and indeed all citizens of our nations.
On this significant day, we congratulate the people of Brazil and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership as, together, we provide leadership and examples of democracy, diversity, and social justice to our Hemisphere and to the world.
actual bank holiday More than half of the citizens of São Paulo, Brazil celebrate November 20th as “National Black Consciousness Day (Dia da Consciência Negra),” the editors of the Brazilian website Afropress.com have declared .
In Salvador da Bahia, where the entire month is being celebrated as “Black November,” 80 thousand people are expected to take part in a “Freedom Walk” on Tuesday, November 20th. But in São Paulo - which is both Brazil's most populous city and the city with the largest population of people of African descent ParadaBlack.jpgoutside of Africa - preparations are underway for what’s expected to be a major march along the Avenida Paulista, it is being called the Marcha da Consciência Negra/Black Consciousness March or Parada Negra/Black Parade. Contingents from various other cities are on their way to São Paulo to take part in the parade.
Parada Negra participants
(Afropress.com photo)
Government-sponsored recognitions will also take place. Radiobrás, the national radio agency, is planning a week of special programs on the subject of racism in Brazil and it will look at efforts to promote racial equality. The Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) has noted that the holiday is already so well recognized that banks in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Campinas, Marabá and Vilhena will all be closed on Tuesday, November 20 as each of those cities recognize the day as a bank holiday.
Established under law number 10.639 in 2003, the Dia da Consciência Negra recalls the life of Zumbi who, on November 20, 1695, was betrayed by a follower, captured by Brazil’s Portuguese soldiers and beheaded. Zumbi was a leader of the quilombo of Palmares – a community of self-liberated Afro Brazilians who had fled from the sugar plantations in Pernambuco. Brazil’s Black movement has used the image of Zumbi as a symbol to promote the idea of resistance and independence for its community.
Afro Brazilian Senator Paulo Paim, PauloPaim.jpgwho is also chair of the nation’s Commission on Human Rights, has proposed legislation to make the Dia da Consciência Negra a national holiday. Sen. Paim is collecting signatures on an online petition for those who support a Statute of Racial Equality that would enforce a Brazil without racism.
Senator Paulo Paim
The marches, petitions, parades and celebrations this year will merely foreshadow events due to take place next year, when Afro Brazilians commemorate 2008 as the 120th anniversary of the abolition of African slavery in their country.
“In Brazil, the Dia da Consciência Negra is a holiday in some 5,561 cities. This means the day will be respected by 40.3 million people – or nearly 22 percent of Brazil’s 183.4 million citizens,” Afropress.com notes. Afro-Brazilians are 49.5 percent of Brazil’s population.
Brazilian Black Consciousness Day
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 18, 2009
The United States Government and the American people congratulate the people of Brazil as they recognize Black Consciousness Day, also known as Zumbi dos Palmares Day, on November 20. The life of Quilombo leader Zumbi and his unrelenting struggle against slavery stands as an enduring symbol of freedom and justice.
Today, both Brazil and the United States recognize the important contributions of Afro-descendants in our societies and the imperative of combating discrimination, which has negatively impacted both of our countries. Just last month, our governments, in partnership with civil society and our private sectors, met for the third time in Salvador da Bahia under the historic U.S. – Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality. Together we are celebrating the diversity of our heritage and developing and sharing best practices to ensure equal opportunity for Afro-descendants and indeed all citizens of our nations.
On this significant day, we congratulate the people of Brazil and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership as, together, we provide leadership and examples of democracy, diversity, and social justice to our Hemisphere and to the world.
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