Schooling and Black authorship to counter the delegitimization of the Afro-Brazilian population

Abstract

This text aims to outline a reflection on schooling and Black authorship as elements of resistance, both playing a significant role in the struggle to reverse the devaluation experienced by people of African descent. The research, of bibliographic and documental nature, was grounded in theoretical studies and used primary sources, consisting of two letters from the director of the Casa dos Educandos Artífices to the President of the Province of Maranhão. Excerpts from the writings of three Black authors from Maranhão, children of enslaved women, born in the 19th century, were analyzed: Maria Firmina dos Reis (1822–1917), José Nascimento Moraes (1882–1958), and Raul Astolfo Marques (1876–1918). They stood out in public service,
teaching, and/or journalism and became spokespersons for the socially excluded Black population through literature. Their biographies and writings on the life of the Black population during the slavery period and the post-abolition era were examined. Thus, attention is drawn to the importance of making the biographies and literary works of Black men and women known, contributing to the construction of a more plural national memory that can impact the promotion of anti-racist education for future generations.