A rua sempre teve um papel importante para o povo negro. O espaço público é vivido como uma arena, onde o cotidiano é um jogo difícil. A prostituta Sônia d’Mauriti sabia bem desta dificuldade e nos idos de 1950, na Favela do Esqueleto, numa conversa na comunidade com D’Bahia, falava à sua amiga a premissa que se faria realidade no futuro: “Olha o meu bebê D’Bahia”, dizia, “ele é muito esperto. Ele vai ser doutor!”. Em maio de 2018, Carlos Alberto Ivanir dos Santos defendia no Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Sociais – IFCS/UFRJ – a sua tese de doutoramento. Tanto esta como a sua central liderança da “Caminhada em Defesa da Liberdade Religiosa” marcou a cidade do Rio de Janeiro como um lugar de debates sobre liberdade religiosa, intolerância religiosa e reterritorialização negra. Desta forma, se constitui o tripé que será a base de atuação da nossa personagem principal – a rua, a religião e a academia – e assim ao militante, religioso e político acrescenta-se o que foi anunciado por dona Sônia d’Mauriti, o título de doutor. Essa trajetória é marcada por subverter a ordem hegemônica estabelecida e colocar a comunidade negra na ordem do dia assim como a luta contra a intolerância religiosa que torna-se uma luta por direitos humanos, diferenciado-se da luta circunscrita à acusação moral e resolvida de forma particularizada.
Una aproximación a la realidad a partir del recurso al concepto “reto” en su doble acepción lógico y lingüístico, es decir entendido como simple aprehensión mediante la cual percibimos las cosas sin afirmarlas o negarlas, y su transferencia al circuito del habla donde se descubre la estructura del signo lingüístico en el que jugamos con el significante y significado, en términos saussurianos. Trasladando el concepto y la imagen acústica de “reto” al continente africano, alcanzamos su verdadera significación. Aquí, el reto significa un compromiso irrenunciable, un riesgo, un desafío que, como toda la actividad humana, requiere una detallada presentación de motivos, una deliberación cautelosa y madura, de tal manera que su puesta en marcha implica o exige asumir la responsabilidad de todas sus consecuencias.
Esto se convirtió en un proyecto, el de la lucha por la liberación total de toda África, una lucha emprendida por el Panafricanismo. Su desarrollo pasará por diversas etapas hasta llegar a un momento álgido en el que su pueblo, sus naciones o sus masas tomen la conciencia de reclamar el puesto que, desde hacía siglo, les correspondencia en la planificación de su presente y de su futuro, con el fin de alcanzar un desarrollo integral y permanente, un desarrollo capaz de unir el bienestar material con el espiritual.
En este esfuerzo para convertirse en los únicos protagonistas de su propia historia se enfrentarán con las barreras de los nuevos imperios, los cuales defendiendo su hereditaria hegemonía mundial se embarcarán en una guerra atroz e indefinida contra todos aquellos que se opongan a sus intereses, tal como se observa en la actualidad.
Portugal, like other European countries, has been slow to address the restitution of artworks stolen during the colonial era. Despite growing international pressure to decolonize museums, there remains a lack of cohesive governmental policy to expedite these processes. The discourse on the decolonization of museums includes repatriating cultural artifacts, reframing dominant narratives, historical memory, self-determination, and political reparation. This paper examines the photographic exhibition “Family Albums: Photographs of the African Diaspora in Greater Lisbon (1975 to Today)” by Inocência Mata and Filipa Lowndes Vicente as a specific case of decolonizing historical memory and museums while deconstructing symbols of imperial power. Showcased at the Padrão dos Descobrimentos in Lisbon, the exhibition provides a platform for self-representation, displaying analogue photographs selected by members of the African diaspora, documenting their lives from 1975 to today. The exhibition allows visitors to engage with researchers in guided conversations, enriching their understanding of the decolonization process. By challenging the conventional narrative of the African diaspora in Portugal, it enables African voices to share their own experiences. This aligns with the critical perspectives of scholars like Achille Mbembe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who emphasize the importance of diverse perspectives to counter the dangers of a singular, dominant narrative. Additionally, the exhibition critiques symbols of imperial power, such as the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, by deconstructing the colonial use of photography as a tool of oppression and transforming it into a medium for self-representation and resistance.
This exhibition is a crucial step towards decolonizing historical narratives, fostering intercultural dialogue, and promoting social cohesion. It demonstrates the power of collaborative, participatory methodologies in reclaiming cultural identity and history.
En mi ponencia haré una presentación de una de mis últimas novelas, la titulada Dientes Blancos, piel negra, que vio la luz con el aliento del programa I+D Afro-Iberia. Me centraré en el personaje principal, Valerina Diana, con la intención de poner en valor la presencia de africanos en España en un tiempo en que ni había espacio intelectual para ello ni se palpaba la incomodidad de que hubiera africanos en España, siendo, paradójicamente, un tiempo en que los supuestos racistas que sostuvieron y nutrieron la colonización de África eran vigentes. El testimonio de esta protagonista es crucial, por cuando no solamente debía derribar o enfrentarse a los prejuicios de raza, sino también los de género, en un tiempo en que ni siquiera se había acuñado la palabra machismo y en que la tutela paterna, o masculina, era la norma.
This presentation is intended as a provocation, articulating the concept of cabinets of curiosities with decolonizing strategies. In 2022, at the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra, the exhibition Cabinets of Curiosities: An Interpretation was inaugurated. Immediately it was the subject of strong critiques and media debates. All people saw was how bad it is to “revive” this concept. But – even thought this particular exhibition was not conceived with that in mind – it was also a lost chance to discuss a key-point: could a cabinet of curiosities be a sensorial and conceptual strategy to decolonize the way we look at objects in museums and exhibitions?
I intend to challenge Western orthodoxies, through the articulation of the concept of cabinet of curiosities with decolonial strategies of display. In order to do that, my proposal is to imagine a cabinet of curiosities without legends or captions, without a cultural mediation of museum professionals or academics; I ask myself if this could be a way for visitors to question themselves about what they are seeing, and about why they are seeing it, and if a cultural mediation can be so reactionary as silence can be liberating. Setting from the questioning of remains from an obsolete world, from its deconstruction and reinvention, and from an absolute disorder, maybe the silences in what is being presented to the public – and not represented, as an edited victim of mediation – could result in an introspection based in an absence of a priori explanations. This way, instead of being given an interpretation map about how to navigate the exhibition, maybe visitors could find their own coordinates to critically navigate colonial objects in Western institutions.
