brazil
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Black Lives Matter Protests Erupt in Brazil After Black Man Beaten to Death by Security Officers
Demonstrators took the streets across Brazil this weekend to protest the killing of João Alberto Silveira Freitas, a Black man and father of four, by security officers. According to a report from the Washington Post, videos taken by witnesses to the incident show 40-year-old Freitas being held down and beaten bloody by officers working at…
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No Need to Panic But…A Shipment of Chicken Wings Tested Positive for COVID-19
Let’s begin with a prayer: Dear wise and everlasting father, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, we come to you the only way we know how—with a church organist playing in the background (Everyone knows that boosts the prayer signal by 23 percent). Precious father, we understand that nothing in this world happens without your…
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How the Wider Black Diaspora Is Being Impacted by COVID-19
Black people in the U.S. are dying from coronavirus at a rate higher than any other demographic, and at almost 3 times the rate of white Americans. Structural racism and bias embedded in the country’s health systems along with other inequities have contributed to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on black people in America. Here’s how other…
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At Last: Brazil's Villainous New President Meets the Man in the Mirror
When I was at SXSW last week, outside of openly questioning how black people are expected to survive in a world devoid of cracked pepper, I had the pleasure of partaking in a live rendition of Roast Battle—the popular Comedy Central television show in which a pair of comedians dismember each other to the audience’s…
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The Year Black Lives Matter in Brazil: Death of Young Black Man in Rio Prompts Protests, Comparisons to Eric Garner
Black Lives Matter protests broke out in at least five different cities in Brazil last weekend following the death of a young black man who was restrained by supermarket security in an upscale suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Pedro Gonzaga, a 19-year-old student and father, died of a heart attack last Thursday after being immobilized…
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When Keeping It 'Colonial' Goes Wrong: Vogue Brazil Editor Resigns After Using Black People as Props at Birthday Party
Just prior to the release of its Spring Fashion Issue, Vogue Brazil suddenly finds itself without a style editor, as Donata Meirelles found out the hard way that using black people as props in a nod to the glorious history of colonization isn’t so chic in 2019. In fact, for Meirelles’ 50th birthday, she got…
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#Nigga, What? Afro-Brazilians Express Black Pride by Embracing a Problematic Word
Like most people who use Instagram, I peruse the platform to seek out black beauty—men and woman. I live in Brazil, a country that is more than 50 percent black. But you wouldn’t know that by the faces you see on television, in magazines and even on mainstream websites. So Instagram is where it’s at.…
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Ava DuVernay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Janelle Monáe and More Join Call for Justice for Slain Afro-Brazilian Activist
More than two weeks after the assassination of Marielle Franco, an Afro-Brazilian politician who had staunchly advocated against police violence, grim details have emerged around her death. As Kiratiana Freelon reported for The Root, the 38-year-old Franco was gunned down in her car by armed men in Rio de Janeiro. She was shot a total…
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Say Her Name: Marielle Franco, a Brazilian Politician Who Fought for Women and the Poor, Was Killed. Her Death Sparked Protests Across Brazil
Editor’s note: This story has been updated. Marielle Franco, 38, a black politician from Rio de Janeiro, died fighting for the rights of women and favela dwellers. As a councilwoman from the Maré favela, she denounced the police brutality that favela residents, most of them black, regularly experienced. On Wednesday around 9:20 p.m., armed men…
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Black Panther Inspires Black Brazilians to Occupy White-Dominant Spaces
Black Panther has inspired the Diaspora in myriad ways. The film has been applauded by black people across the world for touching on the complex relationships between Africans and African Americans, for serving up positive images of African culture for global audiences, and for providing a vehicle that allows black people throughout the world to…