In April, cases of racism in elite schools gained space in the media and highlighted the need for educational institutions to do effective work to combat discrimination, which is even provided for by law. Experts interviewed by Brazil Agency point out the need to involve the families of the aggressors in the debate and also for punishment that can show the seriousness of the acts committed, as well as protect the victims.
“If the episodes are happening and coming to light, schools are probably lacking in doing more effective work”, analyzes education consultant Gina Vieira Ponte, a graduate in Portuguese and specialist in human development, education and school inclusion. “These situations , they remind us that school is not impervious to what happens in society, right? We are a little surprised because school should be a place for cultural transformation. And, unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. School is often reduced to a space for the reproduction of racist culture. The first thing we always have to remember is that we are a historically slave-based country, and that racism was implanted in our collective unconscious”, emphasizes Ponte.
Two recent cases drew attention. In São Paulo, the episode of racism against the 14-year-old daughter of actress Samara Felippo. The attack took place at Escola Vera Cruz, in Pinheiros, an upscale neighborhood in the capital of São Paulo. Through a post on social media, the actress commented that she has received support and that she intends to continue seeking justice: “Racism is a crime and I am going to the end so that the law is applied to a crime. Does a black child/adolescent need to be humiliated for the school to see that its anti-racist policies fail miserably?”
Actress Samara Felippo with her 14-year-old daughter who was a victim of racism at a school in São Paulo. Photograph: Sfelippo/Instagram
The other case occurred in Brasília, also involving an elite school. During a game, students from Colégio Galois said offensive words to students from the Franciscan School Nossa Senhora de Fátima, such as “monkey”, “son of a maid” and “poor boy”.
According to the Nossa Senhora de Fátima school, although several officials from the other school were present at the scene, no adequate action was taken at the time. For Ponte, it is necessary for schools to position themselves in these situations. “The worst response that the school can give to these situations is permissiveness in relation to the actions of these children. Because indirectly we will be saying to the aggressor, it’s okay for you to be racist, there is no problem with your behavior and we will be saying to the child or teenager who was a victim of racism that what you feel doesn’t matter to this school . Your feelings, your ethnic-racial identity, that doesn’t interest us, we’re not worried about that. So, in this case, impunity has a disastrous effect.”
The cases are not isolated. According to the Perceptions about racism survey, commissioned by the Peregum Black Reference Institute and Projeto Seta, and carried out by IPEC – Intelligence in Research and Strategic Consulting, the school appears as the environment where the majority of people declared having suffered racism. More than a third of respondents, 38%, stated that racism was experienced at school, college or university. Space surpassed the work environment, with 29% of cases, and public spaces, with 28%.
Accountability
According to criminal lawyer specializing in anti-discrimination law Aline Santiago, the first guideline is that the families of children and adolescents who are victims of racism file a police report, recording what happened. From there, the cases must be analyzed. Santiago is also coordinator of the Racial Equality Commission, of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) São Paulo. She explains that both those responsible for the children and adolescents and the school itself are responsible for what happened. “While the children are in that environment, they are under the guardianship of the institution. Therefore, it is necessary that the school, in its administrative role, understands and understands that the school’s role is also to supervise children’s behavior. So, it’s a joint role, between parents and the school.” The school must also, according to the lawyer, promote teacher training in the deconstruction of racism.
Given the seriousness of the acts, Santiago explains that the aggressor students should be expelled. “It is an appropriate and necessary measure, because punishments in this sense come with an educational character”, he says.
It is also necessary for those responsible to seek racial literacy. “Beyond any situation, they were victims of discrimination. So, in the face of racist attacks that occur, parents of aggressor children must seek racial literacy, education so that their children can also be vigilant in relation to this. Because we talk a lot about children who are attacked, children who are aggressors and the role of schools. [É preciso] also look at the children’s parents, who are the child aggressors. Children often replicate their father’s behavior. So, it’s a perspective that we also need to have.”
Fighting racism
The fight against racism must be constant in schools, according to Ponte, who draws attention to the legislation. There are both laws and guidelines that provide measures that help combat discrimination in the school environment. Law 10,639/2003, which makes the teaching of Afro-Brazilian history and culture mandatory in all basic education, is the result of the struggle of the black movement, social movements and many people. The law changed the National Education Guidelines and Bases Law (LDB), the main education law in Brazil, and, however, it is not complied with.
Research released last year showed that 71% of municipal education departments do not have consistent actions to comply with legislation. Another study released this year shows that around 90% of daycare and preschool education classes ignore racial topics.
“We have research that shows that there is enormous negligence on the part of schools in relation to doing this work. The reasons are many. One of the most important is that there is a lack of a permanent, consistent policy, a quality policy, both to subsidize and report on education professionals in the application of this law, and there is a lack of a policy to monitor the application of this law, so that it is carried out in a qualified manner. ”, analyzes Ponte.
A survey carried out by Todos pela Educação, released in 2023, shows that the total number of public schools with projects to combat racism, sexism and homophobia fell to the lowest level in ten years. Half of the schools, 50.1%, took action against racism in 2021. In 2015, the index had reached its highest level in the period, reaching 75.6% of teaching units. Since then, according to the organization, the numbers have dropped steadily. The data used were from contextual questionnaires from the National Basic Assessment System (Saeb) aimed at school directors, between 2011 and 2021.
National Politics
Amid the repercussion of the cases, the Ministry of Education (MEC) informed that it will present protocols to prevent and respond to racism in schools. The notices with the proposals will be published in the coming months and can be applied to all educational institutions in the country – public and private. The measure is part of the design of the National Education Policy for Ethnic-Racial Relations, which should be announced on the 14th. In total, the policy has seven axes, one of which is the monitoring diagnosis of the implementation of Law 10,639/2003 . To accelerate implementation, the MEC must announce work to strengthen educational networks through a regime of collaboration and federative coordination. Financial, technical and symbolic incentives are foreseen in the implementation of the national education policy on ethnic-racial relations.
