During the night of 19 November 2020, in front of a supermarket in Porto Alegre, Brazil, João Alberto Silveira Freitas was brutally killed by two men who were responsible for the store’s security. João Alberto was a Black man. His story is not news for Brazil, where 75 percent of homicide victims are Black people, whereas persons of African descent represent around 51 percent of the country’s population.

325 years ago, one of the most important leaders against slavery during colonial times in Brazil, Zumbi dos Palmares, was killed. Dos Palmares for a decade led a community of runaway slaves in north-eastern Brazil. As it took place on the eve of 20 November, the day when Black Awareness is celebrated in Brazil, João’s assassination resonated with particular strength and triggered the already-marginalised Black population to demand justice once again.

RESPONSES TO JOÃO’S DEATH

It is outrageous that some sectors of the public and even the police sheriff in charge of João’s murder hesitated to acknowledge the fact that this murder was indeed the result of institutional racism in Brazilian society. During a press conference, Roberta Barroso, from the homicide and personal protection division of the Porto Alegre police, said “there’s no evidence of racism”. She referred to the incident as a “disproportional reaction” from the security guards at the supermarket. Hamilton Mourão, the country’s Vice President also declared that there is “no such a thing as racism” in Brazil.

On the other hand, major Brazilian news outlets and, most importantly, Black activist movements have used the platform of Black Awareness Day marches to say “I can’t breathe” and “Stop killing us”. Just like the well-publicised death of George Floyd in the United States, the preliminary autopsy results have indicated that João’s death was caused by asphyxiation. Ironically, this murder was committed by two men who were supposed to be keeping people safe.

The supermarket, Carrefour, has responded to the many demonstrations and protests in the streets, inside their stores and on social media, by releasing a public announcement. According to the supermarket, the contract with the outsourced security company had been terminated and the security manager on duty at the time in the Porto Alegre store had been fired. Although such measures were necessary, they do not even start to touch the real root causes of the issue.

As Manuela Libardi describes, this was not the first act of violence towards Black people inside a supermarket. In February 2019, Pedro Henrique was strangled by a security guard inside a supermarket in Rio de Janeiro. In July of the same year, a 17-year-old boy who worked as a recyclable material collector was tortured in public at a supermarket in São Paulo for trying to steal a chocolate bar.

Brazil has the largest Black population outside Africa and was the latest country to free their enslaved people. What happened on 19 November was not an isolated case, but a showcase of how intensely racism is part of not just history but also current times in Brazil. This country was built by Black people and owes many things, from economic development to culture, to its Black population. It is time that the whole society comes together to fight and try to end this fatal issue.

SYSTEMIC RACISM IN BRAZIL

Brazil, the second most populous country in the Americas was the last one, only in 1888, to abolish slavery. This historical fact still plays a role in Brazilian society nowadays. After freeing the enslaved population, the imperial government at the time spared no funds and efforts to promote European immigration to the country in order to replace the Black workforce. This resulted in neglect of the already existing population on the basis of eugenic theories that had great influence in social and political aspects in the end of 19th and first half of the 20th century around the world.

Later in the 20th century, the myth of a racial democracy was normalised as a way to erase the extremely racist actions of imperial, republican rule. The idea was established that Brazilian society was a mixed and accepting environment for all races and ethnicities. This was even praised in academia by scholars like Gilberto Freyre who wrote the book “Casa Grande e Senzala”(Masters and Slaves), where he seeks to equalise the contribution of Black, Indigenous, and European people in the country’s formation.

The myth is easily overcome with some basic data on the current status of Brazilian society. The Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics states that although the Black population represents over 50 percent of people in the country, they represent 75 percent of the lowest income class. The white population represents 70 of the highest income earners in society. This clearly situates race as a factor in the country’s endemic inequality.

But the issue goes much further than an already disparate financial chasm between races. An increasingly militarised and violent police force has been indiscriminately killing citizens—the vast majority Black and poor—and has recently gained international attention. The brutal killing of people in the favelas throughout Brazil, and most notoriously in Rio de Janeiro, at the hands of police, is as intricately woven into the fabric of Brazilian society as samba or football.

Another incident took place in September 2019. Ágatha Félix, age eight, and her mother were returning to their home in Complexo do Alemão in Rio, when police shot at the van they were traveling in, killing the girl.

CONTINUING THE FIGHT AGAINST RACISM

João Pedro was taken away in a helicopter, leaving his family with no information regarding his whereabouts or condition. More than 17 hours later, the family found his body at the coroner's office.

From lack of opportunity to violence from the very state that should be looking after the most vulnerable sectors of society, the fight against systemic racism in Brazil is far from over. Thanks to civil society movements and opposition politicians, the fight is increasing. One champion of the fight was Marielle Franco, who fought for the rights of marginalised communities in Rio de Janeiro and was brutally assassinated in 2018 by a former police officer. The world seems to be slowly awakening to this issue and is starting to apply the pressure necessary for governments and society to overcome racism and transform this reality.