As long as there is RACISM, there will be no DEMOCRACY.

Manifesto of the Black Coalition for Rights – We, the organized Black population, Black women, people from favelas and peripheries, LGBTQIA+ people, those who profess religions of African origin, quilombola communities, Black men and women with different faiths, people from the countryside, waters and forests, exploited, informal and unemployed workers, in the Black Coalition for Rights, publicly demand the eradication of racism as a genocidal practice against the Black population.

Brazil is a country indebted to its Black population – both historically and currently. Therefore, any project or articulation for democracy in the country demands a firm and real commitment to confronting racism. We call upon the democratic sectors of Brazilian society, the institutions and individuals who today demonstrate concern about the ills of racism and affirm themselves as anti-racist: be consistent. Practice what you preach. Join us in this manifesto, in our historical and ongoing initiatives of resistance, and in the proposals we defend as a way to build democracy, organized in our program.

This call to action is even more urgent amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, when we know that the Black population is the segment that gets sick and dies the most, that swells the ranks of the unemployed, and that feels firsthand the dismantling of social public policies. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the racial debate can no longer be ignored.

At this moment, when different sectors are uniting in defense of democracy, against fascism and authoritarianism, and for the end of the Bolsonaro government, it is of utmost importance to consider racism as a central issue.

“We are going public to denounce the appalling living conditions of the Black community.” This excerpt, taken from the founding manifesto of the Unified Black Movement Against Racial Discrimination in July 1978, is proof that we have never been heard and 

that we have always been on our own.

This is a struggle that did not begin here, but that materialized in the thoughts and actions of men and women who, in every historical moment when brutality was imposed on Black people, raised their voices and said: NO!

There is no democracy, citizenship, or social justice without a public commitment to recognizing the Black movement as a political subject that brings together the defense of Black citizenship in the country. There is no democracy without confronting racism, police violence, and a judicial system that disproportionately incarcerates the Black population. There is no citizenship without guaranteeing the redistribution of income, work, health, land, housing, education, culture, mobility, leisure, and the participation of the Black population in decision-making spaces of power. There is no democracy without constitutional guarantees of land titling for quilombola territories, without respect for the way of life of traditional communities. There is no democracy with the contamination and degradation of natural resources necessary for physical and cultural reproduction. There is no democracy without respect for religious freedom. There is no social justice without the needs and interests of 55,7% of the Brazilian population being fully met.

Racism must be rejected worldwide. The brutal murder of George Floyd demonstrates this, with the revolts, demonstrations, and insurrections in the streets and the demand for racial justice. In Brazil, we stand in solidarity with this struggle and these protests, and we demand justice for all our young people and for the Black population. And, among many we cannot forget, João Pedro is present!

In our past, we formed quilombos (maroon communities), forged revolts, fought for freedom, and built the culture and history of this country. Today, we fight for a true democracy, the exercise of power by the majority, and we call upon those who are outraged by the injustices in our country.

Because practice is the criterion of truth.

Sign the manifesto here.