![]() In many ways, it’s as if facets of black culture have become fashionable but apparently only when its presented in white skin a discussion we will continue here on the blog as more evidence continues to present itself. We also see memories of samba in the ongoing debate about the cultural appropriation that many see going on today. Afro-Brazilian persecution can also be seen in the 21st century as Brazilian police continue to brutalize Afro-Brazilians, murdering five times more people than police in the United States, with the vast majority being black. Every year during Carnaval, samba is used to promote Brazil nationally and internationally and is generally the only time of year in which Afro-Brazilians are allowed to shine in the spotlight as after the five day celebration is over, they are basically sent back to the favela and forgotten about for the other 360 days. ![]() In this way, samba is very representative of the way in which Brazil has always treated its black population. Later in the 1930s, the government saw in the samba a way of promoting the nation’s culture and helped to transform from a ‘black thing’ into a ‘Brazilian thing’. But this repression was met with strong resistance by Afro-Brazilians who didn’t let themselves be intimidated, battered but unrelenting, as they ignored “the scorn of the bourgeoisie.” (Swanson 2003) This resistance was not only on the part of black men, as black women, referred to as “tias”, or aunts, played significant roles in keeping the genre alive and allowing it grow by permitting these musicians to play extended jam sessions in their homes. They would often have their homes raided and guitars confiscated by the police. As Reneé Critcher Lyons (2012) confirms that this music that was first produced and consumed in the favelas (slums on the hills) but in public gatherings these musicians were chased and driven off the streets by police. In the 1920s and 1930s, musicians of the style were considered low life vagabonds and violently oppressed by police. Samba was, as many saw it, “uma coisa do negro”, or a ‘black thing’. From its beginnings, the musical genre that would later become Brazil’s most popular exponent of culture was persecuted and scorned upon by government officials, police and elites of the society. ![]() Note from BW of Brazil: Studying the history of samba is a key element to understanding the struggle of Afro-Brazilians. ![]()
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