WEBVTT

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Hey guys, I'm Faheedah and today

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we're going to be talking about

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the African diaspora in Brazil

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[Humming] Freedom is...

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mine.

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Did you know that Brazil has the biggest

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African Diaspora Community
outside of Africa?

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The 2010 census in Brazil

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shows that for the first time,

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the majority of the Brazilian population

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identified as afro-descendant.

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50.7% of Brazilians.

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the equivalent of over
a hundred million people

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self-identified as black or mixed-race.

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The statistics I'm about to give you
are truly staggering.

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The trans-atlantic
slave trade as we know it

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began when the Portugese
completed the first

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trans-atlantic voyage to Brazil in 1526.

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From 1501 to 1866,

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an estimated 4.9 million enslaved Africans

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were trafficked to Brazil.

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That's nearly 40% of all slave traded

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in the trans-atlantic slave trade,

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and at least four times
the number of slaves

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that were trafficked
to the United States.

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Brazil was last country
in the Western Hemisphere

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to abolish slaver in 1888.

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Slave labour was the driving force

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behind several key industries in Brazil,

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including sugar production,

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golden diamond mining,

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cofee production and agriculture.

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As was the case across Latin-America,

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enslaved Africans in Brazil escaped

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and formed maroon settlements
called "Quilombos".

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The most famous of which was 
Quilombos dos Palmares,

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which existed for most of 
the 17th century.

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It was a relatively large Quilombo,

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with a population of several
thousands escaped slaves

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and indigenous people,

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who formed a complex
and structured society.

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At its height, it had
a population of 30,000 people

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and spanned over eleven villages,

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occupying a landmass the size of Portugal.

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The most famous afro-brazilian

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slave resistance leader was Zumbi,

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the last king of palmares,

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who led the fierce
counter-attack against the Portuguese

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forces trying to seize the Quilombo.

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Although the settlement
was captured in 1695

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and Zumbi was decapitated,

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today he is a powerful
symbol of resistance

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against slavery in Brazil
and Portuguese colonial rule.

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To this day,

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the descendants of Afro-Brazilians

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living in Quilombo settlements

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fight for the right
to their ancestral land.

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In 2018, for the first time,
a Quilombo community

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was given land titles,

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when a community of 500 people

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was formally granted

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220,000 hectares

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of Amazonian rainforest.

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A key turning point
was the Haitian Revolution,

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which ended in 1804.

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Whereby the afro-descendant
population of Haiti

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rebelled against the white French elites

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and claimed their independence,

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both from French colonial rule

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and their European slave masters.

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This sent shockwaves across Latin America,

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which were felt as far as Brazil.

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Some Afro-Brazilians even wore

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portraits of Haitian revolutionary leader,

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Jean Jacques Dessalines

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in pendants around their necks.

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However, after the collapse
of the sugar industry in Haiti,

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it was Brazil that catered
to the increased demand for sugar.

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Enslaved Africans continued to be imported

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in large numbers to the region of Byir.

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From the Haitian Revolution onwards,

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slave rebellions became
more frequent and more brutal.

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The largest rebellion occurred
in 1835 in Salvador,

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and was known
as "The Malê Uprising."

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It was orchestrated
by African-born Muslim slaves

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who intended to free
all of the slaves in Bahia.

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However, the rebellion was crushed

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and many participants
were arrested, executed,

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flogged or deported.

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Relations were tense
between enslaved Africans

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who had recently been imported

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and the enslaved Afrio-Brazilians,

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who had been born
into slavery on Brazilian soil.

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The Afro-Brazilians
were comprised of blacks

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and mulattoes who were mixed with the

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European ancestry of their slave masters.

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They were treated better,

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were more likely to be emancipated,

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often because they were
the slave master´s children

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and had great opportunity
for social mobility

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once they had been freed.

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In fact, it was not uncommon for wealthy

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free blacks and mulattoes in Brazil to

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have slaves of their own.

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It was arguably these
internal divisions that held the

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enslaved population back

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from staging a successful revolt.

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Although Brazil gained
its independence from Portugal in 1822,

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slavery wasn't formally
abolished until 1888,

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when Princess Isabel of Brazil passed
the Lei Áurea,

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The Golden Act.

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This made Brazil the last country
in the Western Hemisphere

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to abolish slavery.

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The amount of slaves
that had been trafficked to Brazil

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during the slavery era
meant that the Brazilian population

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was now majority
black and afro-descendant.

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At a time when
scientific racism was gaining popularity,

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the Brazilian government tried
to whiten the country´s racial profile.

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It implemented a tactical whitening,

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whereby from the late 1800s
to the early 1900s,

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Brazil encouraged and even subsidized

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the mass influx of white
European immigrants to Brazil.

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The countries with the
highest numbers settling in Brazil

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were Italians, Portuguese ans Spanish.

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Although this didn't eradicate
blackness from Brazil,

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it reinforced the trope that whiteness
should be aspired to

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and that marrying someone
whiter was an instrument of

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social mobility.

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In the 20th century, 
the black movement in Brazil

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gained momentum.

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A defining moment was in 1931,

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when the Frente Negra Brasileira
was formed.

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the first black political party in Brazil,

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organized by Arlindo Vega dos Santos.

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The party put forward candidates
for political office,

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run literacy classes,
health clinics and legal services

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for black communities across Brazil.

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They also published a newspaper called

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A Voz da Raça, which circulated news about

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black communities both
in Brazil and overseas.

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The party was short-lived,
however, when in 1937

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the Brazilian dictator,
Getúllio Vargas dissolved all

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political parties

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From the 1950s onwards,

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there were a number
of black social movements in Brazil

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that lobbied for black rights.

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One of the most famous
was the Unified Black Movement,

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also known as the MNU,

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founded in 1978,

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which is arguably the most influential
black organization in Brazil

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in the second half of the 20th century.

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Among things, the organization spoke out

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against police brutality,
the oppression of black women

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and discrimination against
the LGBTQ community.

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In 1995, the MNU helped organize

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the march for Zumbi

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in the capital of Brasilia.

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The event protested racism
in Brazil and also celebrated

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the anniversary
of the death of Zumbi,

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the slave resistance leader

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who was the last king of the
Quilombo dos Palmares.

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With a turnout of over
40,000 people,

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it was the largest national
black demonstration in Brazil.

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In recent years,

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social media has played a pivotal role

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in black political activism in Brazil,

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particularly amongst
afro-brazilian millennials.

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Social media platforms such as

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YouTube Instagram
and Facebook have allowed

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afro-brazilians to connect
and mobilize online.

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Social media provides a forum

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to discuss the collective struggle,

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but crucially, it has also allowed
the dissemination

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of photos and video footage

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showing police brutality
against Afro-Brazilians.

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one such example is the murder of

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Claudia the Silva fajita who passed away

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in 2014 after a police van dragged her

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down the road for over a thousand feet

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the grisly incident was captured on

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camera and circulated on social media

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sparking national outrage the black

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lives matter movement in particular

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gained traction with afro-brazilian

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youths who coined the hashtag vidas

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import them the fact an

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unprecedented number of people

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self-identified as black and mixed-race

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in the 2010 Brazilian census shows that

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Brazilians are prouder and more willing

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to claim their African heritage than

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ever before

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however the census also brought to light

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the grave disparities between the

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distribution of wealth amongst white and

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afro-descendant Brazilians the

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socio-economic gap between white and

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black Brazilians persists the 2010

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census found that in major cities white

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Brazilians earn 2 to 3 times more than

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their black counterparts the wealthiest

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strata of Brazilian society remains 82%

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white and the poorest rata is 76 percent

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black afro Brazilians have far less

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access to quality education health care

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or fair wages and they are

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underrepresented in the government the

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most prominent African derive religions

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in Brazil are candomble a and Amanda

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Amanda centers on the belief in spirits

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both good and evil can delay is derived

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from the belief

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systems of a number of African ethnic

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groups particularly Yoruba fun and Bantu

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similar to the arisia of Santeria

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practiced in Cuba and other regions the

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deities of candomble a are called the

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Orisha over time they have become

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syncretized with Roman Catholic saints

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this dates back to when enslaved

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Africans were forbidden by the European

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masters for practicing their African

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religions and so had to do so in secret

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under the guise of praying to Catholic

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saints because of the historical ties

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between kin Bombay and Catholicism

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Catholicism is also widely practiced

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amongst afro-brazilians

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one afro-descendants Saint venerated in

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Brazil is ask Rafa and Aspasia a slave

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woman of African descent who is depicted

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wearing a metal facemask the story goes

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that her master's wife accused her of

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flirting with her husband and as a

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punishment force her to wear an iron

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mask over her face for the rest of her

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life until she died from tetanus from

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the rusty metal the biggest

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afro-brazilian festival is the festival

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of Yemanja celebrated every february 2nd

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in heal Vermeil the festival brings

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together members of several religions

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including Catholics and practitioners of

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the afro-brazilian religions can Don

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Blake and Amanda Yemanja

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is the arisia of the sieve and loosely

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corresponds to the Cuban or Isha

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Yemaya it is custom to lay offerings for

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the goddess of flowers jewelry and food

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and of course resin is famous for its

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carnival around Mardi Gras there are

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celebrations across the country but the

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most famous is hosted in Rio de Janeiro

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for over 5 million people participate in

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the street parties one key element of

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the Carnival is the Samba music and

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dance a clear vestige of African

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influence in Brazilian culture the fast

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footwork of Samba dancing originated in

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the dancers practiced by the enslaved

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Africans who were trafficked to Brazil

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and the singing style is derived from

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the traditional call-and-response style

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the Africans would use to evoke the

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orishas during religious ceremonies

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another afro-brazilian style of dance is

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capoeira which combines martial arts

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moves with elements of dance and

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acrobatics to create graceful and

00:10:57.930 --> 00:11:00.329
flowing sequences it's originated

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amongst enslaved Africans

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Raziel who sought to hone their combat

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skills without arousing the suspicions

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of their masters in 2014 it was declared

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an expression of intangible cultural

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heritage by UNESCO

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the afro-brazilian Museum located in San

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Paolo is home to over 6,000 works

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pertaining to a per bazillion history

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culture and heritage it seeks to

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celebrate the arts and accomplishments

00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.430
of Africans and Africa's ilion's and is

00:11:26.430 --> 00:11:28.320
the largest collection of artifacts of

00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:31.230
African descent in Latin America black

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Awareness Day has been celebrated

00:11:33.060 --> 00:11:35.610
annually in Brazil since the Year 1960

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it's held on November 20th to honor the

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life of our Brazilian slave resistance

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fighter zombie famous afro-brazilians

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include the footballers Pele and

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Ronaldinho the scholar and politician of

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gs the Nascimento actresses aermotor and

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the politician benedita de silva he

00:11:54.270 --> 00:11:55.800
became the first black woman in the

00:11:55.800 --> 00:11:58.020
Brazilian center that brings me to the

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end of our video on the African Diaspora

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in Brazil for more videos don't forget

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to subscribe and follow me on instagram

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at freedom is mine official I'll see you

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in the next video

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[Music]