afirmativa magazine 37 - english version

4 Afirmativa Plural • Edição 37

Afirmativa Plural is a publication of Afrobras – Afro Brazilian So-cial and Cultural Development Society – Documentation Center -and printed by: Unipalmares Publishing Ltd, Brazilian Registrationno. 08.643.988/0001-52. Bimestral release. Year 8, 37th edition. Con-tact information: 843, Av. Santos Dumont/Ponte Pequena • SãoPaulo/SP – Brazil • ZIP Code 01101-080 • Telephone: (55 11) 32294590 • Internet: www.afrobras.org.br

EDITORIAL COUNCIL: José Vicente • Francisca Rodrigues • RuthLopes • Cristina Jorge • Nanci Valadares de Carvalho • HumbertoAdami • Sonia Guimarães.

EXECUTIVE AND EDITORIAL MANAGEMENT: FranciscaRodrigues, Journalist (MTB. 14.845 – [email protected]).

PHOTOGRAPHY: J.C. Santos.

COLLABORATORS: Ana Luiza Biazeto, Daniela Gomes, ElianeAlmeida and Silvana Silva.

EDITORIALIST: Rejane Romano (Mtb. 39.913) • ([email protected]).

SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISEMENTS: Rejane Romano([email protected]) • Telephone (55 11) 3229-4590.

PUBLICITY: Maximagem Mídia Assessoria em Comunicação •Telephone (55 11) 3229-4590.

COVER: photo Marcelo Carnaval/Agência o Globo.

EDITING: Alvo Propaganda & Marketing ([email protected]).

PRINTING AND FINAL WORKS: Vox Editora.

TRANSLATED: pages 5, 64 and 65 by Solange Martinez. Other pagesby Ebony English ([email protected]).http://www.ebonyenglish.com.br

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Once upon a time there was a Black Stallion ...............................6

José Antonio Dias Toffoli, Ministry of the Federal SupremeCourt ...............................................................................................10

Marco Aurélio de Mello, Ministry of the Federal SupremeCourt ..............................................................................................11

It was worthwhile to believe ..........................................................12

José Sarney, President of the Congress ....................................14

Orlando Silva, Ministry of Sports ...............................................15

An evaluation on Obama´s government ....................................16

Nelson Narciso, Ceo HRT Oil & Gas África ............................20

Ives Gandra Martins, Lawyer and Emeritus Professor atMackenzie University ..................................................21

A black swan ..................................................................22

Marcos Oliveira, President of Ford Brazil ...................24

Luciano Coutinho, President of BNDES ......................25

The resident daughters of the White House ..................26

At the First Lady´s Pace ...................................................28

Edvaldo Brito, Deputy Mayor for the city of Salvador ....31

The family in Kenya ............................................................................32

Netinho de Paula, city representative ........................................33

Obama and Zumbi united through education .........................34

Sérgio Dávila, Executive Director/Folha de S. Paulo ...............38

Robson Caetano da Silva, Olympic Medalist ...........................39

Waiting for the source of inspiration .......................................40

Benedita da Silva, Federal Congresswoman – PT/RJ .................43

The post Obama era and the aspirations for black power .....44

Heraldo Pereira, Journalist and political expert/Globo TVnetwork ........................................................................................48

Paulo Paim, Senator – PT / RS .................................................49

A defender of the hope – Dulcinéia Novaes and Fábio ViniciusNovaes Vieira ...............................................................................50

Oprah Winfrey´s statements .....................................................53

Obama conquers Brazil ..............................................................54

Abdias Nascimento, Former Brazilian Senator and founder ofIPEAFRO ....................................................................................63

Yes, we can!, José Vicente ............................................................64

Edição 37 • Afirmativa Plural 5

editorial

March is an important monthto the black community. And cer-

tainly the last one will be remarkablein both Brazilian history and Brazilian

black people’s history. In 1960, South Af-rican men, women and children were dead

by policemen from Apartheid organization,by claiming the freedom to enter and exit both

public and private spaces of their own country.It was March 21st, then this date was proclaimed

as International Day Against Racism by theUnited Nations organization.

Also in March 2011, Brazil was visited by one moreAmerican President. But this time it was quite differ-

ent. The 44th President of the United States is a blackman, in a racist country with only 13% of people fromthis ethnic group amongst the population. Brazil, the big-gest black contingent out of Africa, and with the most oftheir self declared black citizens, Mr Barack Obama andhis family must have thought they had landed in the wrongcountry, where there was only white people.

clared black people according todata from IBGE, a statistics researchgovernment agency? I wonder if he,as many others presidents, maybe hadthought he was in Argentina, maybe?But then he went to Rio de Janeiro and, asevery good famous visitor, he knew a localshantytown. And obviously he must have feelany relief for there he saw many people who looklike him, from the same race. The population wholives in the local shantytown has mostly black people,as in all poor Brazilian regions, they are clearly inpoverty line.What should had thought Mr. Obama and his family?I wonder if they believed that the future had come toBrazil as the American President said? Or are we al-ready the future country, since most part of our popula-tion, which is made by black people are still kept apartfrom society or public life? What does Brazil set apartfor us, the black people? I wonder if we would say in thenear future “yes, we can”? Or will we keep on fighting for

According to what was written by the president of theFaculdade Zumbi dos Palmares, Mr José Vicente, in hisarticle concerning the forego Mr Obama’s visit, “the Presi-dent will note that there will be no black people neither tomeet him at the airport among Brazilian ambassadors norduring the meetings with people of high position to dis-cuss public or private questions. He saw that, differentlyfrom the American basis, in Brazil he will meet no blackpeople in high echelon or position, nor even in hun-dreds companies located in this country”.And so it happened. When they met Mrs DilmaRousseff at the Palácio do Planalto there were no blackpeople to meet Mr Obama and his family. There werefew ones amongst that selected group, but they camefrom the American escort. Also at the lunch with

undertakers and statesmen there were no blackpeople. During the Forum with entrepreneurs,

no president, executive or high manager wasblack. I believe that Mr Obama, who must

have done his homework studying Brazil-ian history, had asked himself in which

country he actually was. If he madeno mistake for this is not a coun-

try with 51% of self de-

years and years to come for a place in the sun? For oppor-tunities that allow us to prove that we are so able to surpassin importance as Mr Obama did?Mr Obama’s election to be the United States President wasone of those events that annoyed the whole world, thataffected many people, mainly to black people like us inBrazil. This is the reason that made us decide to make thisspecial edition. A homage to Mr Obama and his family.Why? Let’s see: Mr Obama built his path under the edu-cational aspect, for he understands that education is afundamental element to the progress for both citizensand nations. By this same ideals, Afrobras and FaculdadeZumbi understand that it is fair to dedicate this un-pretending homage to this man, a symbol of chang-ing that makes us dream.We hope that someday Mr Obama come to visitthe Faculdade Zumbi dos Palmares, where 87%of its students are self declared black people.Here he certainly will not feel solitaire, butat home. Here both he and we can.

Enjoy the reading to everyone!Mrs Francisca Rodrigues,Executive Editor.

YYYYYes,we can!es,we can!es,we can!es,we can!es,we can!

ditorial


Monteiro Lobato predicted in his book en-titled “O Choque das Raças – The Clash of theRaces” (renamed “The Black President”, lateron) that in the year of 2228 a Black man wouldbecome the 88th elected president of the UnitedStates. A 1926 Science Fiction piece, writtenfrom allegedly racist and prejudiced viewpoints,the book tells the history of the struggle forthe presidency among a white female feminist,a radical white candidate and a popular blackman. Along the plot, white folks revenge theirdefeat by sterilizing the winners by using a soft-ening hair product.

Lobato, the Prophet, was wrong. Such presi-dent would come in some 220 years before theone described in his book. In 2008, the blackman Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th

President of the United States.His life has always been a great kaleidoscope

of situations. He is the son of a white womanfrom Kansas married to a Black father fromKenya, and Obama is a Leo-born individual,birth on August 4th, 1961. He came to life inHawaii and lived his childhood in Indonesia withhis mother and stepfather, but he indeed be-came a citizen of the world in the U.S.A.

A Harvard´s graduate, he could have takeneither a teaching or a law oriented career, buthe chose to look after people, instead. Being intouch with the poverty of the so called Third

Once upona time therewas a BlackStallion…

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World certainly had a major influ-ence on his decisions. Obama at-tended the Occidental College inLos Angeles, where he took his firststeps towards a political life. His firstappearance happened during ananti-apartheid rally. Nevertheless, hewanted some more. He decided tolet his nomad blood speak louderand he set out across the nation. Sohe went to New York where he stud-ied Political Science at ColumbiaUniversity. Afterwards, he moved toChicago, where he worked on a pro-gram that fostered low income citi-zens to take part of the political pro-cess of the country.

When Barack Obama joined LawSchool at Harvard, he still worked asan organizer on South Side´s com-munities, a region composed offormer low income workers from lo-cal steel factories and other plants.After a year attending the university,Obama secured a summer job at alaw office in Chicago, where he metMichelle, also a student at Harvardwho became his wife and the motherof his two daughters, later on.

When he finished his course atHarvard, Obama returned to Chi-cago to follow on his real vocation,that is to say, a political career. At firsthe preferred a modest position, butObama never gave up on his seduc-ing charm to establish his pathwayas a politician. He was then an activ-ist on civil rights issues.

In 1996 he was elected Senatorfor the State of Illinois. In the yearof 2000 he ran with former BlackPanther´s member CongressmanBobby Rush, and Obama lost. Thenhe decided to move even higher onhis electoral intents. He wanted fed-eral Congress. And up he went. Dur-

ing the fall of 2004, Barack HusseinObama was elected federal senatorfor the United States. And, as mostlikely expected, he started voicing thepresidency and was indeed electedpresident in 2008.

After 2 years of his mandate aspresident of the United States,Obama has faced enormous ob-stacles to act as the leader of the

most powerful country of the world.The dream of the African Americansis still far from the expected outcome.Without the support on the actionspromised during his presidential cam-paign, Obama swims against the tideand struggles to address some issuesto the best of his knowledge.

Though bestowed the 2009Nobel Peace Prize, Obama still con-

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tinued sending U.S. troops towardsMiddle East when in fact the prom-ise was to remove them from Mus-lim territory. The most recent actionthat cornered his moves was the in-terference on Egypt´s conflict wherean alleged suggestion for a peacefulstrategy was imprecisely proposedand that raised criticism from vari-ous instances.

During the 22 months of Oba-ma´s campaigning for the presi-dency of the country, he adopted aspeech for change on the U.S. real-ity and the candidate became an iconof this transformation. His speak-ing attempted to translate the desireof the African Americans and thiswas actually observed, given the re-sults of the elections. The hope for

a new era was demonstrated uponthe popular participation at the lastelections, the biggest one registeredin the U.S. history. Obama faced thechallenge and the American peoplecontinue to believe. “Yes, he can”.In 2009 Obama was granted theNobel Peace Prize for both his anti-nuclear campaign and peace for theworld.

The fight for the civil rights and the affirmative action policies obtained a broad relevance within human societiesduring recent decades. On a legal perspective, a reflex from this is seen in the approval of an extensive normativeprogram that could both favor inclusion and restrain discriminatory attitudes. The ascension of Barack Obama tothe presidency of the United States of America is a symbol of the historical achievement of this process, one that hasbeen conducted by generations of men and women, regardless their ethnics, for the cause of the radicalization of theconcept of human dignity. The politician Barack Obama has to be distinguished from the symbol that he represents.This dissociation is necessary so that we do not confuse eventual accomplishments or failures of his administrationwith the symbolic and also concrete inexorable gain that his position as the ultimate leader of a country bearingindelible racial problems has been. As for Brazil, Obama´s presidency portrays a double meaning. And that meansthe modeling of both the advantages of an effective racial democracy and the expectancy that he gets a more realisticcomprehension of the country.José Antonio Dias Toffoli,Ministry of the Federal Supreme Court.

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”10 Afirmativa Plural • Edição 37

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For several reasons throughout History, an overwhelming discredit was thrown upon people submitted to the slavery system. Agreat many years of evolution were necessary until the societies could abolish, by means of profound legislative improvements,the privileges of treatment based on color, race and creed. The victory of Barack Obama, a Black man climbing to thePresidency of the United States, a country where the racial segregation had once been legally enforce, has obtained an emblematicmessage: he was seen as the best candidate, taking in consideration his intellectual capability as well as his technical and moralbackground, apart from his respective physical traits, skin color, name or origin. A singular situation also happened among us– the election, for the first time, of a woman, to the highest national political position. Hopefully this scenario becomes one ofthe starting points for thriving relations between Brazil and the U.S., whose improvement still urges for the overcoming ofprejudices from both sides. Should we surmount the fallen tupiniquim anti-Americanism and having Brazil been understoodaccording to the greatness it represents, will both quoted American Nations from north and south become partners in the actingin favor of the construction of a future based on multilateral progressive point of view.Marco Aurélio de Mello,Ministry of the Federal Supreme Court.

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especial

How do we express the felling forthe fulfillment of a dream? Indeedunexplainable in words, neverthelesstotally perceptible through gesturesand glances.

The smile on the face and the eyesfilled with tears are enough to illus-trate the happiness upon the percep-tion that the dreadful barrier has beenovercome. A barrier stretching so farback in time that no longer it makessense why it still does exist. The bar-rier of skin color is yet segregating

along the 21st century.Notwithstanding, a message has

been given to the world after BarackObama´s victory on the presidentialelections of the United States: it isworthwhile to believe and focus ona dream. Having an African Ameri-can chairing the most powerful na-tion of world reignited the hope forchange and sparked the hibernatedfaith that people change, ultimately.Even from right here in Brazil, thou-sands of kilometers away from this

moment of racial effervescence,Zumbi dos Palmares College has fol-lowed, step by step, the trajectory ofthe man who has made History. Theleading egalitarian educational insti-tution from Brazil oriented for theinclusion of country´s Black popu-lation towards the Brazilian main-stream, Zumbi dos Palmares Collegedid not pose solely as a viewer of thedeveloping facts.

Both the management of the col-lege and the enrolled students orga-

By Rejane Romano

it wasworthwhile

tobelieve

nized themselves in several support-ing rallies since the beginning of thecampaign until the desired conclu-sion of Obama´s victory.

For that, a huge lit banner with thesaying “Barack Obama – We Are To-gether!”, was exposed in campus.Being visible from the top due becauseof its being attached to the roof ofthe facility, as well as in the façade ofthe school, the billboard not just calledthe attention of the bystanders nearby,but also of the excited local press.Hovering choppers covered the areareporting the support given by thestudents from the institution.

Support not limited to the hang-ing of such unusual banners. It wasnecessary to expose the happinessand the commitment spotted alongthis moment in History. By mobiliz-ing an all pro-Obama army, severalpeople from the campus collectedover two thousand signatures com-ing from all Brazilian states and alsoincluding support from abroad andvia internet. This document, havingpreviously received the support fromthe U.S. Embassy, in accordance to aspecific program oriented to the rec-ognition of the task of inclusion forminorities, enabled the Rector of

Zumbi dos Palmares College, Mr.José Vicente, to hand deliver thesesignatures to a given Obama´s elec-tion committees.

It was a way to affirm that eachof those names also made part ofHistory. Those names contributed,in their own way, for the change.

Black housemaids, since the timeof the slave ships all the way to thekitchen of the farm´s main house,struggled to learn and retain the nec-essary information that could bepassed over to the remaining slaves.

In order to give more exposureto the increase of supportive claimsfavoring Obama, Afrobras(SociedadeBrasileira de Desenvolvimento SócioCultural/Afro-brazilian Social andCultural Development Society),trustee of both Zumbi dos dos Pal-mares College and Afirmativa Plu-ral Magazine, made use of printedpublication channel to spread theopinion of great names of the Bra-zilian scenario concerning the rel-evance of having a Black man head-ing “The Empire”.

Those were three cover essaysand several other reports citing theimportance of Obama´s election.Experts from several paths of life,

politicians, businessmen, entrepre-neurs, artists, musicians and activistsexposed their considerations through-out the pages of Afirmativa Plural,clarifying the readers´ opinion on themoment that the world was goingthrough and what the global blackcommunity would probably have toexpect from those days on.

Such dedication has been com-pensated. The outcome of the elec-tions was a joyous moment in the bestZumbi´s style. Lots of music, balloons,drumming, Samba School demon-stration and the happiness written allover the face of the crowd were theingredient of this celebration.

The phrase “Yes, We Can”, in factbecame a part of each of thosepeople´s lives. As truly believers that“we can”, the party jam lasted forunbreakable hours and once againcalled the attention of the local press.

And, last but not least, crowningthe efforts and the initiatives that havemade this dream come true, there isnothing like the chance to eyewitnessthis accomplishment at close range.Mr. José Vicente was present at theInauguration Day and according tohis own words, it represented “a sin-gular and joyful moment”.


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I am one of those who have received the election of Barack Obama as the emerging of a new great moment for humankind, drowned it is in the worst crisis of recent times. His message awoke such a sense of confidence that he can´t fail. Asof the 1950s, the affirmative action policies were implemented in the United States, and they promoted an extraordinarytransformation in the American society. Not even the biggest dreamers could have thought then that the 21st century was tobe inaugurated with the coming of a young black leader to the White House. As usual, the alliance of poets with politiciansmade it feasible what seemed to be impossible. And Obama has arisen not as a traditional politician, but on the same levelof the great tradition of American leadership as Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt or, last but not least, Martin Luther King.What we wish to his country and to the world – and to the cause of racial equality – is that he establishes himself as agreat man of our times and as the black statesman who brought back the hope.

José Sarney,President of the Congress.

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The fact of Barack Obama being today the President of the United States has an extraordinary historical relevance. Itis a role model of great value, with several implications. A Black man became the main leader of the greatest worldpower. But that is not all there is to it. What really matters is how he got there: through a process in which his solidacademic schooling was essential. This trajectory shows to the U.S. society and to ours how essential education is towardsthe achievement of the goal of social and racial equality. Obama´s administration prizes it as a pillar for development,contrary to his antecessor. It is vital, by the way, to highlight the leading role of universities in regards to sportivecooperation between Brazil and the United States.Many of our athletes are used to training at U.S. institutions. Whatis happening now is the opposite: basketball players from the U.S., for instance, are playing at our teams. Sports unitenations and this proximity tends to become more significant.

Orlando Silva,Ministry of Sports.

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By Daniela Gomes


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In November of 2008 BarackHussein Obama was elected the firstBlack president of the United States.After winning a tight campaignagainst republican candidate JohnMackain, Obama became the 44th

man elected president of one of thestrongest economies of the world.

Against all the odds, Obama putapart the focus on the racial issueand then zeroed in on the traditionof the American people in trans-forming adversities. Mainly becauseof his motto, “Yes, we can”, Obamabecame a symbol of the yearnedchange for a country that faced oneof the worst crises of their history.

In 2009, after a year of mandate,Obama obtained his greatest victory,when he obtained approval for thereform towards the health systemprogram, the same one that aimedto extend the coverage of the healthpolicies to nearly 100% of theAmerican population. But in 2010,the criticism grew harder andObama was no longer seen as a kindof savior and he started facing a highlevel of rejection. The strongestblow came on November 2nd, whenthe Republican party secured thepolitical majority in the Congressand that could make it unviable forObama to honor the remaining ofthe promises made during the presi-dential campaign. What is behindso much criticism? What makes apresident who has been electedwith over 69% of approval fall inconsideration against the popula-tion in less than two years of man-date? Could it be that the racial is-sue is a factor that influences onObama becoming a target of somany negative reviews?

In order to answer these ques-

tions, Afirmativa Plural talked withRoosevelt Thomas, one of the mostrespected consultants on diversityfrom the United States; David Mor-gan, American Express Vice Presi-dent; Joyce Hicks, journalist and fi-nally Debra Lowe, real estate insol-vency consultant. We asked them togive their opinion on the subject.

Afirmativa Plural: How do youanalyze the first years of Barack Obamain the government?

Roosevelt Thomas: I believethat he has done a praiseworthy job,but some people might say that hehas been struggling to do a lot insuch a short time.

Joyce Hicks: I believe thatpresident Obama has done a greatjob since he took the presidency. Anunprecedented deficit has beenpassed to him and he became presi-dent in a time when the UnitedStates found itself extremely di-vided. He arrived to the positionintending to join (the democrats)with the republicans and the inde-pendents and certainly he has triedto unite the people, but the politicalenvironment has not been favorabletowards this goal.

Debra Lowe: I believe that thepresident is doing a wonderful job,if we take in consideration the eco-nomical circunstances that the coun-try experiences nowadays. Massivejob dismissals and high cost forfood, energy, water and health careproduce an environment that I hadnever seen before. President Oba-ma inherited a big deficit that camefrom Bush´s administration and thatcaused many families to lose theirhouses and jobs and that forced theAmerican economy to move backfor some years.

David Morgan: President Oba-ma has had a good performance onthe resolution of urgent economicissues faced by the country when hetook up the position. He refined andimplemented an economical rescueprogram that allowed the banks toestabilize their financial status sothat they could continue loaningmoney to companies and small en-terprises. He promulgated an exten-sive reform on the health care pro-gram that both enlarged the cover-age of benefits and eliminated over200 billion dollars on health carecosts altogether.

Afirmativa Plural: In your opin-ion, what could be improved for the nextyears?

Roosevelt Thomas: I believethat Obama will have different chal-lenges to face in the next two years,as far as the Republicans will be amajority at the Congress. Therefore,it doesn´t mean to have to do thingsin a better way, necessarily, but do-ing things in a different way, instead.

Joyce Hicks: Unfortunately Ibelieve that the time for the presi-dent Barack Obama to continue of-fering his handshake to the Repub-licans and compromise what he es-teems the most is over. He has notassumed a unilateral position in hisgovernment, but the republicanshave been trying to impede, stop orchange nearly every legislation andregulation that he proposes. (Themost notable one is the reform onthe health care system). He has justtwo more years to reach his goalsand there is absolutely no time leftfor him to get involved with Repub-licans who visibly are not willing towork with him, and that is obviouslya hard task if we take in consider-


He is thepresident of usall, and under thisperspective, Ithink that he hasbeen attentive tothe blackcommunity.

Roosevelt Thomas

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ation that the Republicans are nowa political majority at the CongressHouse.

Debra Lowe: I hope that theeconomy starts to get better and thatwe can come up with a health careprogram that is reasonable for theworkforce.

David Morgan: Obama stillneeds to work harder to reduce thehigh level of unemployment andalso consolidate more advance-ment in order to end the war withAfganisthan.

Afirmativa Plural: Do you believethat he has failed at fulfilling the promisesmade during the campaign?

Roosevelt Thomas: I believethat it is still too early for us to getto a definite judgement on that andI believe that he has honored manyof his promises.

Joyce Hicks: On the contrary,President Obama has promised a re-form on the health care system dur-ing his campaign, and after manypresidents and politicians merelytalking about this issue for decades,he was able to finally get it approved.Probably it has not been yet thecomplete program that we all wishedto have, but Obama has made a greatadvancement in the extension of thecoverage towards more vulnerablecitizens of this country, and that isquite an accomplishment. He hasapproved a financial reform, he hasincreased fund raising to assist U.S.war veterans, he has issued an ex-ecutive order to review the restric-tions concerning researches on StemCell and that were imposed byBush´s administration and he hasalso expanded financial aid in ben-efit of low income college students.

Debra Lowe: I believe that the

president has not honored his prom-ise to reduce the advantage that ma-jor corporations have in the Con-gress. Not only president Obama,but all Senators and Congressmenare there to obtain great benefitsfrom the contributors and get what-ever bribes they can with lobbyagents. They´re all bought and soldout for one dollar.

David Morgan: The presidenthas done a great job in keeping hispromises made during the campaign,

though a little late. He has demon-strated a committed capability towork with the republicans in orderto promulgate legislation. He haskept the promise not to raise taxeson families with an incoming levellower than USD$ 250,000, he de-creed a reform on the health caresystem and he reduced the numberof troops in Iraq.

Afirmativa Plural: In your opin-ion, has he done everything possible toimprove the situation of the AfricanAmerican population?

Roosevelt Thomas: He is thepresident of us all, and under thisperspective, I think that he has beenattentive to the black community.

Joyce Hicks: Everything thatwas possible? I don´t think so, buthis policies have been primarily ori-ented to help the working class andless privileged people. And I wouldsay that a great and disproportionalnumber of Americans of low in-come is of black ethnics, so he hasdone a lot to help black Americans.He has also set a wonderful rolemodel on the success that a blackman or woman can achieve when weput good education and hard worktogether.

Debra Lowe: No, our presidentwalks the razor´s edge, but that isnot just about President Obama,many blacks became indulgent herein America. Some of them have lostthat fight feeling that existed some40 years ago. When the problemscome around, there´s really no onewho could lead the fight on this ac-count. President Obama and the leg-islators can do more, but we, as apeople, we have to get back to de-manding the addressing of this is-sue and take a position of fightingfor what we want.

David Morgan: The presidentreceives various criticisms when thefocus turn to those issues affectingthe Black population. He has se-cured an important solution towardsblack farmers. However, manypeople say that he hasn´t doneenough to fight the high level ofunemployment and the executionmortgage on black Americans. Hehasn´t got much done about hiringblack people in his administration.

Afirmativa Plural: Do you believe


that the fact that the president is a Blackman is one of the reasons for his receivingso much criticism?

Roosevelt Thomas: In somecases, that could be true, but Icouldn´t say how far it goes.

Joyce Hicks: On the present cir-cumstances, I believe that any otherdemocrat president would get relent-less criticism. However, the Tea Party(an ultra-rightist movement createdin 2009 that demands for fiscal ac-countability) didn´t exist during theeight years of mandate for PresidentBush and that administration gener-ated an enormous and unprec-edented deficit. It just doesn´t makeany sense that an entire politicalmovement would wait until this presi-dent got to be elected. And besidesthat, we have heard some outrageousallegations saying that Obama was

not born in the U.S.A., so he couldn´trighteously be elected and this au-thenticity quest on a newly electedpresident is a new action that noneof the previous presidents had everto certify before. The same way thatsome affirm that he is surroundedby “terrorist friends” and that he isMuslim (though the evidences prov-ing the contrary). These facts don´tdiffer clearly from everything wehave already seen against a presidentof the United States. The racial re-lations, the return of segregation inschools (as seen in Raleigh, NorthCarolina) also seem to be more dan-gerous ever since president Obamahas been elected and that put manypeople to ask: why? There is clearlysomething that is easily perceivableas far as we now have the nation´sfirst black president.

Debra Lowe: That´s a fact!Many people hate him. PresidentObama is a very intelligent, hand-some and charismatic man and hehas all the attributes that many whitemen would like to have. He dealswith the elephant in the room thatmany black men and women fightdaily: hatred! Some of them I don´tknow why, but that is deeply rootedever since childhood times in thefamily background.

David Morgan: No, though Ibelieve that there´s a portion of thepopulation opposing to the presi-dent based solely on his race. I thinkthat much of the criticism has to dowith his positioning in some issues,as the high level of unemploymentand the struggle of the oppositeparty to retake the power.

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The United States is a role model for the world and the election of a Black president means that it is possible not onlyto wish for but also to reach a relevant position. President Barack Obama doesn´t highlight his speech as a blackrepresentative nor addresses a racist speech. He does more than that: He inserts in his pronouncements and actions all theracial issues coming from the minorities. The conjuncture calls for changes in all aspects, and change is made by the peopleand it is undeniable that the world is changing. The fact that president Obama and president Dilma do representminorities in power may raise a sense of identification between both. The Brazilian president, known for being verypragmatic, is always attentive on technical and administrative affairs. She has an eye for business. These characteristicscould be very important for the settling of opportunities for Brazil and the establishment of a win-win relationship withthe U.S. government. As a Brazilian, I am optimistic.

Nelson Narciso,Ceo HRT Oil & Gas África.

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As a partisan of the Natural Right, I don´t give support to the idea that sex or race can change anything concerningdiscrimination. We should never have discrimination. We´re just one single species. The elections of Barack Obama andDilma Rousseff are indications that we are on the way to a world without discrimination. The election of a Black man forthe presidency of the United States shows that the country has overcome years of prejudice. At the helm of the government,Obama has been trying to supply the needs of the least assisted communities, but contrary to what was observed around hisBrazilian counterpart, he hasn´t obtained the same receptivity and in fact has lost partial support. As for the contact with theBrazilian government the expectancy is that there will be less confrontation and more negotiation. President Dilma doesn´thave the same charisma of president Lula, but she has a more managerial and technical profile and that in fact can be highlypositive for the relationship between the two countries.

Ives Gandra Martins,Lawyer and Emeritus Professor at Mackenzie University.

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By Ana Luiza Biazeto

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In the United States, a countryknown for its strong tradition concern-ing ideological debates on Politics, theelection of Barack Obama has a sym-bolic representation for History. Hereis a self declared racist nation electinga Black man – bearing a progressing,including, pro-diversity and modernspeech – intended to lead a countryimmersed in an overwhelming eco-nomical crisis at the occasion.

To assume this context is not aneasy task, therefore it is essential to tryto understand it so as to set the cur-rent analysis and the criticism about thecurrent U. S. government.

The election of President Obamasets the definitive inclusion of AfricanAmericans into the political establish-ment of that country. According to Mr.Carlos Melo, Professor of Politics atInstituto de Ensino e Pesquisa em SãoPaulo/Institute for Teaching and Re-search in São Paulo (Insper-SP), “some-how, U.S. racism had to swallow thatand this is something very positive.However, we better not delude our-selves. The opposition to everythingthat Barack Obama represents is stillconsiderable, because he is a Black in-tellectual democrat man and, concern-ing the U.S. international politics, apresident willing to promote connec-tions based on the respect for beliefs,traditions and religions”.

Racism in the U.S. is still an in-soluble problem, a daily violence indeedand, as stated by Professor Melo, it ispartially disguised by other “reason-ings”, as accusing Obama, for instance,of being a “socialist”. “This criticism,hitting both Obama´s social ideologyand his public policies at the same time,brings about a cultural effervescenceprone to reject ‘the Black president”,as well”. It is necessary to overcome all

of this”, says the Professor.Mr. Antonio Carlos Alves dos

Santos, Economist and Professor atPontifícia Universidade Católica de SãoPaulo/Pontiff Catholic University ofSão Paulo (PUC/SP), believes thatObama stands out for being, amongother traits, fascinating, sophisticatedand for walking away from the typicalpolitician stereotype.“His speeches arereal classics. There is this symbolism:he is young, he has a charming family,he has that enchanting manner; it is alandmark, in fact.”

As for the crisis that began beforethe election of Obama, still accordingto Professor Santos, the Americaneconomy has shown signs of recov-ery, since the new president took overthe government and, besides that, therehave been two major changes since2010, “the health care system act ap-proved last year – offering medical in-surance to millions of U.S. low incomepeople – and the enactment of a his-torical law allowing homosexual citi-zens to serve the U.S. Armed Forces,halting a federal decree enforced forthe last 17 years”.

For Mr. Santos, the health systemreforming issue, although denied by theconservative portion of the U.S. soci-ety, “is crucial for the low incomepeople, that is, the African Americancommunity”.

Even though he understands thechallenges, the restraints and the diffi-culties, Professor Santos “expectedclearer and more pedagogical clashes,and I expected that Obama would at-tempt to mobilize more the half of theAmerican society that trusted in him,and this half being modern, cosmopoli-tan and democratic, contrasts all theway from the WASP (White AngloSaxon and Protestant) other half of the

U.S. society. “Anyways, I hoped that hecooperated even more to impede theinevitable collision in a society so di-vided by such distinct portions”.

Because of the initial expectanciesstemming from the election of BarackObama, Mr. Melo still believes inchanges, for “the process is not finishedyet and History moves on day by day”.

One of the current concerns is thatbesides representing the minority, thedefeat of the democrats in the U.S.Congress puts Obama´s political ma-neuvers in risk of being stagnated un-til the end of his mandate. “I don´tforesee the possibility of major actionsto be implemented. He will try to keepwhatever has been accomplished in thefirst two years of his term. His preoc-cupation is the recovery of the Ameri-can economy, with the increase on thenumber of vacancies towards work-force. That is the maximum that he cando”, analyzes Santos.

Concerning reelection, keeping upwith Mr. Santos opinion, it is neces-sary that President Obama lead Ameri-can voters to an extensive job offerpolicy. “For the public, it is importantthe kind of job creation that, thoughaway from the ideal, seems to be bet-ter. The chances for Obama are strong,because he also has a proposing rheto-ric and he embodies family issues inhis speeches”.

The couple Michelle and BarackObama shows that, even in an unfa-vorable scenario, it is possible to changeand that concrete actions are beingtaken since President Obama has ledthe United States. “An elected presi-dent, criticized, though facing racism,is the hope in relation to human kind.He is not the Ugly Duckling; he is aswan, a great president indeed”, claimsthe coordinator from PUC.


The world is passing through transformations, and it is bringing new realities. The fact that Obama is the first blackPresident of the U.S.A. shows the importance of the person, regardless his or her race. This would be impossible some15 years ago. Brazil has soared to the world as a solid and safe emerging country for the last years and the coming ofObama only shows how important Brazil is nowadays as a country when it comes to the consolidation of the world´seconomy. About the first two years of his mandate, Obama has taken the helm in a very difficult and critical moment,and the U.S.A. is still recovering from the crisis of 2008. The American people have lost their buying power and thepresident needs to take actions towards retaking overall growth. Nowadays, the economy is growing again, the reform onsocial, economic and health issues are being done on a clever manner and it will certainly have a positive impact inside theAmerican continent and in the world as a whole.Marcos Oliveira,President of Ford Brazil.

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The visit of President Barack Obama will be an important moment for the alignment between Brazil and the UnitedStates. He will come across a renewed country that has achieved its place as a participant on major global roundtables.Nowadays Brazil talks on the same terms with global powers and we are legitimate for having put into effect a model thatconciliates growth, social inclusion and respect to Democracy. We also should not disregard the symbolic force that drawsboth the leaders of the two countries: Obama, as the first African American to reach the Presidency of his country, andPresident Dilma Roussef, the first woman ever to rule Brazil. I am sure that both Presidents will know how to make useof a common view in search of a fairer society as a driving force of an even more fruitful cooperation.

Luciano Coutinho,President of BNDES.

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Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9, daughters of Barackand Michelle Obama, are the youngest residentsof the White House since the Kennedys´siblings in 1960. They are, presently, thedwellers of one of the most coveted real estateproperties in the world.

With more than 130 rooms, the house isthe place where they will grow up. For severaltimes, parents Obama and Michelle have saidthat the well being of their daughters is what´sconcerned them the most. Home chores likedoing their beds and fixing their bedrooms areincluded in the daily tasks of the two daughters.Since Obama has been elected president, theparents do their best to keep the children awayboth from the spotlight and media coverage´sattention. Daily stuff as scoring a low schoolgrade, for instance, might eventually leak to thepress and get spread all over the country.

Though spoiled and well treated deardaughters, Obama and Michelle assure thatMalia and Sasha are provided with a lifestyle asnormal as possible. Both girls attend privateschool, practice sports, own a pet dog and havetheir childhood and preteen idols.

Their routine moves on quite busy, outsideschool. Malia plays soccer and tennis and alsopractices piano and flute. She loves takingpictures. Different from other presidentialparents, known for spoiling their siblings a bittoo much, the Obamas have very strict homerules. TV and computer time, for instance, isrestrained. Dessert is not served at all meals. Andthey are expected to help on household chores.

Who said it is easy to be the President´sdaughter?

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According to the popular sayingwhich states that “in a relationshipbetween a man and a woman, thehusband has to be the head”, fromthis emerges a pun declaring that“the man has to be the head of therelationship, given that the womanis the neck, thus she controls thehead as she desires”.

The fact is, as in many otherpopular sayings, in this one there isan eventual truth, since there aremany stories of couples in which thewife has equal or even more repre-sentativeness than the husband.

As for Michele and BarackObama, since the period of the cam-paign one can observe an activeMichelle. From the start of Obamaas president of the United States, thefirst-lady didn´t appear at all to be adrab person by her husband´s side.

Having a strong personality, shemasterly takes care of her husbandand children, aside with conciliatingsocial work and keeping herself el-egantly confident. Her marvelousdressing skills were worthy of com-ments at the Vogue and Vanity FairMagazine. She figures at the list ofthe most well dressed woman in theWorld.

Recently, Michelle caused aston-ishment by using a 60 dollar dressduring an interview at the NBC net-work. It was a customized dress inwhich the first-lady even gave a per-sonal touch by combining an obistyle orange belt and high heels yel-low shoes.

After being called “pushy” by re-vealing that in her perceptionObama is a common husband, aman that if necessary should helpher with the house work, she over-


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came the gossip by proving to be asimple woman, that doesn´t let suc-cess get to her head. In interviewsshe has affirmed that besides livingin the White House her daughtershave to know that this is a tempo-rary situation, given that, the girlsalso have their daily dose of a “nor-mal life”: they make their own bedand are as independent as possible.

Nowadays, the first-lady is recog-nized by her association to beneficentactions in the USA. In February 2010she launched the campaign “Let´sMove” at the National level, focusedon the fight against child obesity, thatis considered one of the main threatsto America´s health and economy.The numbers can prove that approxi-mately 32% of the American childrenand adolescents suffer from over-weighting and obesity, according tothe last available data. Around 20%of children between 6 and 11 year-old and 18% between 12 and 19 year-old are obese.

Just as the dance presented bythe couple at Obama´s Inaugura-tion, Michelle and Obama seem tobe keeping their pace. They trans-mit to the world an image of apromising family. Despite the diffi-cult mission of occupying the postof a black first-lady of the USA,with all the attention of the worldpointing at her, Michelle stands upto her husband´s affirmation: “ Sheis the rock of the family, a toughwoman that keeps me with my feeton the ground”.


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The choice for Barack Obama was a kind of expiation of the American people. How come a contingent that contributedfor the growth and the wealth of the country can´t take part of the decision as well?The election let the people from the U.S. pleased, but it didn´t mean that the society was equally compromised with theneeds coming from the minorities. That will indeed demand a great deal of skill from the president to not hurtthe feelings of a portion of the American society.As for Brazil, Barack Obama needs to be more receptive. We´re that kind of people who have dignity and we are notsubalterns. And our market place is enormous, after all. Nowadays Brazil plays a key role in the internationalcommunity and it would be important for both countries to strengthen the current partnership even closer.

Edvaldo Brito,Deputy Mayor for the city of Salvador / BA.

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Part of Barack Obama´s family isstill living in Kenya, a country locatedin Eastern Africa. Obama´s Uncle Saidand his grandmother, “Mamah Sarah”,as she is also known as in that region,live there. Kogelo, a small village thatis homeland to the family, was just pro-vided electricity supply services rightafter Obama had been elected presi-dent in the United States. Now, localresidents will also be prized with amuseum and the school of the smalllocation will be refurbished and it willbe baptized under the name “Obama”.

President Obama´s uncle, Said Oba-ma, works for an NGO in Kisumu, theregion´s capital. The Obama family hasnever been well off in that whereabouts.The president´s father could only suc-ceed in living in the United States tostudy thanks to a scholarship grantedby the University of Hawaii, where oldObama met Ann Dunham, the mother.

U.S. President Barack Obama hasbeen to Africa a few times (last visitedregistered in 2006). Nowadays,because of Mamah Sarah´s popularity,that has bothered her a little, some

Kenyainthe family

reinforcement has been made to thegrandmother´s house, in fact thepresident´s father´s stepmother (sheis Barack Obama´s grandfather´s thirdwife). But regardless the apparentharassment, her daily habits remainthe same and without any knowledgeof English, she speaks the languageof the tribe, called “Luo”.

The history of the African side ofBarack Obama incited the curiosity ofthe British filmmaker and writer PeterFirstbrook. The book entitled “TheObamas: the untold History of anAfrican family.”, launched in February,2011, tells the saga of the Obamafamily since the year of 1250. Thework focuses on and describes thesequence of 23 generation of a familythat has experimented migrations,wars, foreign invasions and deathalong the historic trajectory of Kenya.

The author indicates the differen-ces between life of the Obamas bothin Kenya and in the United States.With some luck, the Kenyans can earnup to 2 USD a day. As for the Ameri-can Obamas, they live in the mostimportant house of the world: theWhite House. Another curiosityappointed by the author is that ifBarack Hussein Obama lived in Kenyawith his family he would not be ofgreat relevance within the tribe, sincehe is the father of two girls. But thewriter emphasizes that “it is importantto remember that the grandfather ofthe president was born in the IronAge. Onyango was born in 1895 in asociety that was not moved on wheelsand that didn´t use a written form oflanguage. His grandfather had notseen a white person up until he was11 years old. Going from Onyangostraight to president Obama in twogenerations only is quite of an abso-lutely remarkable achievement.”.

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The election of Barack Obama was one of the most interesting presidential campaigns in the History fo the UnitedStates. Electing a Black man to lead one of the most powerful economies of the world was possible because theAmerican people believed, as we Brazilians did, that the feeling of hope is capable of outdoing fear. In these times ofeconomical crisis and constant wars, electing Obama makes us believe that yes, we can build a fairer society, one thatrespects and appreciates differences. We don´t have room for discriminatory thoughts and behaviors anymore, those thatcould segregate a person based on race, creed, ethnics or gender. To my knowledge, our fight for equality has achieved someadvances and the elections of Obama and Dilma Roussef are typical examples. The meeting of the first BlackPresident of the United States with the first female president of Brazil should, among other things, work to strengthenthe fight against racism and against all the other forms of discrimination.

Netinho de Paula,Entertainer and city representative – PC do B / SP.

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The election of the President ofthe United States, Barack HusseinObama, is the evidence that old para-digms eventually give room for newways of thinking, new ways of livingand new ways of facing up to overallworldwide differences. We are not liv-ing on a long wanted paradise amongpeoples, but it is possible to spot, hereand there, different reconfigurationswithin societies, and they move on im-mersed on their own History. The ar-rival of a Black man to the Presidencyof the United States is an advent thatseemed impossible. Do we live, there-fore, in a world of dreams or are thesethe dreams of Martin Luther King –and the dreams of the black popula-tion and their supporters – that littleby little come into reality?

It is also the dreams that the stu-dents from Zumbi dos Palmares Uni-versity have fulfilled. Walking overshort footsteps indeed, but still withsignificant expressivity. If in the pastthe parents of some of these studentscould only gain access to major enter-prises facilities through the back en-trances, nowadays, due to a numberof concerted efforts, it is the time fortheir successors to not only

walk through the main hall, butalso in equal conditions to climb theircorporate careers. This change hap-pens only because of the waking upto the liberating path of education, thesame one utilized as a pacifying toolin the construction of a new world,where individuals are distinguished bytheir knowledge level and not by thecolor of their skin.

Obama, who constructed his tra-jectory under this prism, attended theUniversities of Harvard and Colum-bia, and through his political calling, heworked his way to the White House.

President Obama has the under-standing that education, a word men-tioned in a great many number of hisspeeches, is one of the fundamentalelements for the progress of citizensand nations. So is the task of Zumbidos Palmares University, an initiativethat might look like a dream in Brazil,a nation yet so unequal. Sometimes itis hard to believe that 80% of the stu-dents taking Zumbi´s seats and hall-ways are black, knowing that the re-maining universities barely reaches 2%

of black students, nationwide.Since 2004 Zumbi University has

been contributing to the constructionof new facts for the Black popula-tion of Brazil, namely the unsatisfiedpart of the Brazilian social structurethat has largely occupied designatedpost-slavery low rated niches of thesociety such as unprivileged work-force confinement, low income andschooling levels, mortality indexes andurban violence reports, among otherseveral aspects that highlight the open

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racism shown on statistical data.It is through such struggle that

nowadays the institution is interna-tionally recognized. In March 2010,Zumbi University was chosen by theU.S. Embassy in Brazil to receive U.S.Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, bythe occasion of the only non-officialHillary´s appointment while shemoved around on bi-national issues.

Based on the similarities of ideas,the university and the students havedeclared support to Barack Obamasince the beginning of his candidacyand the whole campus sheered up onevery step climbed and they all seemto understand the depth of the chal-lenges concerning the managementof a country the size of the UnitedStates. After all, it takes courage tobreak through barriers and ZumbiUniversity community has demon-

more than 800 administrators certifiedby Zumbi University towards the lo-cal workforce. Of these, 40% are em-ployed at major banking institutions– Bradesco, Itaú, Santander andCitibank – after internship programsoffering positions for junior financialexecutives, due to agreements signedbetween the university and the finan-cial institutions.

The first generations of gradu-ated Black university students are be-ing produced at Zumbi´s and thatmotivate their own family members toseek different job positions and toreach, at last, the status of Braziliansof good self-esteem, all proud of theircultural roots.

Contemporary and veteran ZumbiUniversity students have demandedfor academic changes and optimiza-tion, so that besides the certification

strated to have that.On January 2011, by the time of

an official pronouncement, educationwas one the topics addressed by Presi-dent Obama. “We have to win thisrace intended to bring education toour children. We have to teach themthat success is hard work, discipline”,emphasized the U.S. President.

The first Black oriented Brazilianuniversity was also established withsupreme persistence and belief in cul-ture, diffusion of citizenship valuesand, ultimately, respect for diversityand for the equalization of social op-portunities. The university, as Presi-dent Obama has done, also came upto bring hope and to promote changes.

Evidence of this is the fourth Busi-ness Administration class graduatedin 2010. Considering the previouslygraduated classes, they sum up to

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on Business Administration, the universityalso offers Law School, Publicity, Pedagogyand Surface Transport Technology courses.

Another evidence of the recognition forthe achievements reached by Zumbi dosPalmares University is the participation of thesponsors of honor of the first three gradu-ating classes: in 2007, President Luiz InácioLula da Silva; in 2008, former PresidentFernando Henrique Cardoso; and in 2009,São Paulo State governor, Geraldo Alckmin.

During the delivery of a speech in thebeginning of the year, President Obama alsodeclared that education “is the key to com-petition”. Besides that, Zumbi Universitymanages to offer to the 1800 students at cam-pus the importance of both diversity and in-terdisciplinary learning.

Through education and the autonomy ofall citizens, President Obama and Zumbi Uni-versity do believe that; yes, we can and wewill make the difference!

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The election of Barack Obama to the presi-dency of the United States was a positivesurprise for the country and for the world.Externally, the U.S. people faced an un-precedented rejection index on global publicsurveys, a heritage from the eight years ofGeorge W. Bush´s bellicose policy and twomajor wars (one equivocally sparked, Iraq´s;and another badly conducted, Afghanistan´s).Internally, the election occurred in a very in-cisive divisional moment of the country and,at least for a while, that worked to rebuildthe political bridges required to get the coun-try to overcome the worst economical crisisto hit the U.S.A. in decades.During his campaign, Obama portrayedhimself as a supra politician and a post-racial man. The Democrats tried to avoidthe color of his skin becoming a major topicon his statements, because he was more con-cerned to establish himself as a moderatepolitician that could be accepted by the whiteworking class. And still, the racial issuewas preponderant in some crucial momentsof his plea, as when Obama, then a presi-dential candidate-to-be, had to come out inpublic to justify alleged racist affirmationsmade by his former religious mentor.Now, in the beginning of his third year ofmandate, Obama walks on the habitualtrajectory of the U.S. statesmen which is tostep away from domestic issues and give moreroom to foreign politics in their agenda. Andit is in this context that the visit to Brazil,Chile and El Salvador takes place. Thefact that the Democrat will be received byDilma Rousseff and not by her antecessor,Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will help thebi-national relations, since she tries to makea distinction from the former president whenit comes to foreign affairs issues.

Sérgio Dávila,Executive director / Folha de S. Paulo.

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There was a very intense emotional factor surrounding the election of Barack Obama. Among other issues, it meant to have tochoose between the first woman and the first black man to the presidency of the United States. Upon Inauguration Day,ongoing issues demanded for a more rational approach. Obama is the president of the most powerful country of the world, buthe is also the most fragile. He walks the razor´s edge. A wrong decision can bring up serious consequences within and outsidethe country. Nowadays, the supporting political basis of his government is narrower and more negotiation will be demanded.Obama has succeeded in honoring some of the promises that he stated during his campaign, but we can´t disregard the fact thatthe string of global crisis has been constant and profound. As a black man and also as a man of an exacerbated sensibility,because he has a more human oriented rapport than his antecessors. And his background as a lawyer who assisted low incomecommunities portrays that very clearly. Since he is the President of the United States, he is always requested because of hisglobal representation and, after all, the unexpected has happened, though Jesse Jackson had already tried and failed, I mean, ablack man becoming the president of the United States and the phrase “Yes we can” became a motto and changed a little theAmerican pride between Republicans and Democrats.

Robson Caetano da Silva,Olympic medalist.

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Students from Zumbi dosPalmares University – the only uni-versity in Latin America focusing onthe inclusion of afro descendants –and its creator, the Afrobras –Afrobrazilian Society of Social Cul-tural Development – have endeav-ored in the mission of bringingObama to São Paulo and to the uni-versity campus.

Expecting the President, both in-stitutions worked hard to sensitizethe American Government. Folders,Banners, TV programs were the arti-fices used to attract the attention ofthe one who is an inspiration to many.

Zumbi dos Palmares University asother American Universities hasemerged from an Affirmative Actionthat seeks equal opportunities forblack and white throughout education.

Under the slogan: “without edu-cation there is no freedom”, Zumbihas graduated in 2010 its 4th class ofBusiness Administration and the firstclass of Surface Transportation Tech-nologies. Besides that the Universityalso offers diplomas in Law, Peda-gogy and Publicity.

The arrival of Obama to Brazilonce again has touched the heart andfeelings of Zumbi´s students. Byknowing that their idol will be near,the one that serves and an exampleto be followed, the students are noweager to be side to side with Obama.


Since the election of the one whowould become the first black presi-dent of the Unites States, Zumbi dosPalmares University, as well asAfrobras, have taken a position ofunconditional support.

The sentence “yes, we can” hasbecome a symbol of an equality ideal,bringing back the dreams of thosewho are gone without wit-nessing this moment, butestablished the basis forsuch an election to occurone day.

As a first initiative ahuge banner has beenplaced at the entrance ofthe University, welcomingto Brazil the President ofthe United States, andmore than that, inviting

him to know the University.In addition, a special folder has

been made and sent to Obama re-porting the support from thecollege´s community to him sincehis candidature up to nowadays. Pro-duced in a material with such a so-phisticated finishing, the folder con-tains pictures of the banners, the

party with balloons and the Sambaschools exhibition celebrating hisvictory.

Also the TV Show “Negros emFoco” (Blacks in Evidence) made aseries of special interviews headedby Jose Vicente, the University´sRector, with major business man ofthe national scenario. The show had

the participation of MarcosOliveira, Ford´s Presidentto Brazil; AntoninhoMarmo Trevisan, Presidentof Trevisan Businessschool; Paulo Skaf, Presi-dent of São Paulo Indus-tries Federation – FIESP;and Alvaro Jabur Maluf,President of ColomboShirt Manufacturer.


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Barack Obama inflicted expectations, overcame prejudice and obstacles and has always indicated with determination thepossibilities of internal and external changes. The symbolism of being the first black American president is very strong andrepresentative for itself. The changes are not as dynamic as necessary, even less dynamic as we desire, but even so, they occurby the force of the necessity, by the growing understanding of the population and overall by the changes that are happeningon people´s lives. May God shine to us all and that Martin Luther King´s dream be closer and closer to becoming true.

Benedita da Silva,Federal congresswoman – PT/RJ.

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the postObamapowerera and the aspirations for black


By Rejane Romano

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The election of Barack Obama, a Blackman in charge of the strongest power ofthe world, has shaken and still shakes thedisposition, the imagination and the per-ception of young black Brazilian folks.

“Many are those who report the changein their confidence concerning the poten-tialities of black people in these “Obama´s”times. In 1966 the Black Panthers, a politi-cal party that supported the cause in de-fense of Black people in the United States,had to fight to protect the ghettos againstpolice brutality and even against tax pay-ment and the sanctions imposed by the“White America”, as well. Presently, BarackObama is seen as the personification ofwhat many activists of the Civil RightsMovement demanded and have been de-manding for with their up-raised clenchedfist: All Power To The people.

The allusion that everything is possiblefor those who produce determination andpurpose, regardless the color of their skin,is also what motivates the young studentsfrom Zumbi dos Palmares College. If inold days many of these young studentshad the sole objective to become thefamily´s first member to ever reach col-lege level, nowadays they are aware of thechances to climb to a directing positionat any given company, thanks to a specialInternship Program that the College hasstarted with major local and foreign en-terprises and hopefully, as observed withObama, they will reach the top of gloryfor being the winners on a presidentialelection.

The effects of Obama´s victory arescattered throughout the world. Therefore,and attempting to get the opinion fromyoung black individuals, Afirmativa Pluralinterviewed the students of the first andthe only college focused on the inclusionof Blacks in Latin America. Please checkwhat Obama represents for the lives ofthese students from Zumbi dos Palmares.


The whole world wanted Obama.His election demonstrates that themindset of the society has developedupon the acceptance of a black manin power. That was a necessity andit had to be him. Compared to theUnited States some 50 years ago, thebig change and the one of highest rel-evance has been this election, in a coun-try where there is a population of lessthan 10% described as black. Herein Brazil we are more than 50% andwe are nowhere close to that level. ”

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Fabricio Máximo5th semester – Law School student

The election of Obama has been adeterminant fact concerning racialinclusion. The United States havein their History a sad retrospectiveof both segregation and discrimi-nation, but they have struggled toovercome this situation and theyhave shown to the world how muchcapable we black people are. Oba-ma has opened the doors for and hehas also demonstrated to the worldthat there is room in power settingsfor people of black ethnics, not onlyin the United States, but in thewhole world!.”

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Talita Domingos3rd semester – BusinessAdministration student

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I admire Obama because he is a president facingdifficulties and he is showing strength to overcomethem. His determination reflects throughout theworld. I am sure that he will beat all the odds.”

“Flávia de Oliveira1st semester – Pedagogy

Though Obama is far off at the White House heopened the doors for us Black folks here in Brazil.He has proved to us that we can get to wherever weaim to go. I really hope that he gets to be reelected.”

“Adeta Dandara4th semester – Business Administration student

To see Obama elected as the presi-dent of the greatest power of theworld gave us the motivation to be-lieve that we also can become lead-ers in Brazil. Here we have al-ready seen a metallurgical becom-ing president, as it was with Lulaand now we have a female presi-dent, Dilma Roussef. Who knows,maybe in the near future we willhave a Black (as president).Obama makes us believe in thefuture. To see him in charge lightsthe flame on our hope. ”

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Caio Moura4th semester – BusinessAdministration student

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The election of Obama is a greatachievement in a country that hasalways had such a great distinctionbetween blacks and whites. Hisbehavior works as an incentive forus. No matter how hard thechallenges, he has shown that wehave always to keep on searchingfor our ideals. The history of hislife demonstrates that. ”

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João Paulo2nd semester – SurfaceTransport Technology

Obama is “the man”, for me. He isa myth. Mainly after all he hasachieved for the United States. He ismy source of inspiration. His posi-tioning during the crisis and the projectthat he has implemented have beengreat. He is ahead of his time.”

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Cleiton do Padro2nd semester – Publicity

Sincerely speaking, I noticed that in the beginning there was somespeculation on how it would be with a black man in charge. Nowa-days, I observe some derogatory comments attributing probable flawsin his administration to the color of his skin. They don´t even takein consideration the scenario that Obama inherited from hisantecessor´s management. I admire Obama because he doesn´t takedecisions to please this or that, in fact he struggles to address thepriorities of the country. It really gets on my nerves when they try toassess him by the color of his skin, and mainly when I see blackfolks in accordance to this kind of racism. ”

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Ana Gomes3rd semester - Business Administration student

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During the presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama was considered an “outsider”, but anyone who has readhis biography could realize that he prepared himself before becoming senator and president. Prior to being elected, hehad already accomplished a relevant task in legal affairs. He was an academic and a thinker. As president of theUnited States, he is a reference for the rest of the world. Barack Obama was a candidate of the minorities and hewas elected to govern for the majority. And still, he did not voice a racial speech. He has a gregarious attitude that wasdemonstrated ever since he set out to campaigning. It is no longer advisable for a politician to turn his head to his owncountry only, in the present world´s scenario. Environmental, security and economical issues need to be assessed as awhole and Barack Obama has the proper profile for this sort of debate. Brazil, for instance, should not be dissoci-ated from the Mercosul and from Latin America. The visit of the U.S. president to our country is one moreformality on which some punctual issues could be raised.Heraldo Pereira,Journalist and political expert / Globo TV network.

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When Barack Obama was elected the first Black President of the United States, it reminded me specifically of having feltsuch similar energy with the election of Nelson Mandela, in South Africa, and the election of Lula in Brazil. In the day ofthe announcement of Obama´s victory, it was possible to hear the beat of the drums coming from all five continents. Childrenand elderly hit the streets, hand in hand, celebrating the hope which proved that a new world is possible; a more fraternal one,where diversity comes to be respected and appreciated. There is no doubt that this moment is historical, revolutionary andemblematic. Obama represents a new plural and democratic multiracial stage. And this is a stage imposed by modernity notonly to the U.S.A., but to the whole world. The trend for equality of opportunities and for general rights has been sought byall democratic nations. The visit of President Obama to Brazil is important for us to deepen the economical, commercial,educational, humanistic, technological and political relationship (with the U.S.). We have been following these two first yearsof mandate of Obama´s government, a time that has been challenging indeed. He managed to approve both the reforms on thehealth care and Wall Street´s financial systems, but he feels the burden stemming from the conflicts existing in Middle Eastand from the recovery of the U.S. economy reflecting on people´s lives from all corners. According to my judgement, Obamawill need a second mandate to show his full capability. When I see the Black President Barack Obama, my emotion stillemerges and I feel the flame of hope for a life of equal rights lit in the eyes and the hearts of the people.

Paulo Paim,Senator – PT / RS.

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Barack Obama, Barack Obama... – a name thatsounded... different. A name that could even raise a cer-tain uneasiness because of the sonority that the evoca-tion provoked.

I confess that the first time I heard his name, as incred-ible as it sounds, wasn´t from the journalistic settings. Myson, Fábio Vinicius, who is somewhat updated on globalpolitics affairs and on black racial issues as well, had al-ready detected, through his readings, a probable black can-didate for the presidential elections of the United States.“He studied at Harvard, Mom.” And my son promptly gaveme details on Obama´s life. Senator Obama, laywer, bookauthor. An intelectual, in short.

I even thought, at that time: Does a black man has realchances to run for president in a U.S. electoral campaign?Daahhh! That is pure speculation?!? And I´d say more: toget the presidency of that country...?

When it comes to racial discrimination my son nor-mally revolts against and, because of that questioning, hereplied to me and reset my memory: “Black folks have morepolitical representativeness in the U.S. than black people inBrazil”, he insisted, enthusiastically.

There were some books of and about Barack Obamain the United States. There was absolutely nothing on himin Brazil. Not one single translated book on Obama. Fabionever rested easy though, until we imported a “Dreams


Dulcinéia Novaes

adefenderhopeof the

By Dulcinéia Novaes

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from my father” volume – a book telling the history ofBarack Hussein Obama´s life. And what a satisfaction whenwe got the first print work on Barack Obama´s life in hands!“It was in 2004 when we had our first real contact withBarack Hussein Obama´s character, by reading “DreamFrom My Father: A Story of Race an Inheritance”. By theway, a very surprising biography.

Born on August 4th, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, he isthe son of a U.S. citizen mother from Kansas (who also hadBritish, Irish and German roots) with a Kenyan father, sinceearly life Obama went through unccountable situations thatmotivated him to go in search of his own origins.

In his trajectory of life we can list the divorce of hisparents, the moving to Indonesia with his mother, the re-turn to Hawaii where he was raised by his maternal grand-parents (to whom he became very close), the experienceof living in a multiracial community composed mainly ofJapanese and European people, among other passages.Therefore, it all created in little boy Barack a necessity tofind his roots. In fact, he declares that, when he was 12 or13 years old, he stopped telling his mother´s ethnics toboth whites and blacks, because he noticed the changingon the behavior of these people in relation to him. He wasjust a boy right between two worlds.

After his Political Science graduation at Columbia´sUniversity in New York, in 1983, Barack moved to Chi-cago. In that city he developed a very important programwith the local community, connected to social organiza-tions. It was a maturing and learning process where keep-ing focused and the wish to succeed (always present in hislife) became better structured.

To that matter, his intense interaction with several mem-bers of the society and the voracious reading of realisticauthors and great names from the civil rights struggle ofthe 1960´s have influenced the contemporary president ofthe United States. Nevertheless, a question remained un-answered: “Who am I?”

Because of this restless self questioning, and after thisspecific period in Chicago, Obama decided to seek his roots.He then visit his family from his father´s side in Kenya,where he rescued a great portion of the memories for hisfirst book “Dreams from my Father” (2004).

Well, all the experiences portrayed by Obama demon-strate how his extraordinary leadership skill was developed.He who, according to the American people, is a memberof the Joshua Generation, an icon of this generation of

BoxUm líder autêntico“ Barack Hussein Obama é alguém que

demonstra em todas as suas aparições pú-blicas ou mesmo nos relatos de seus livrosou entrevistas de amigos e parentes, sermuito autentico. Este tipo de autenticida-de, bem como sua autoconfiança não ocor-rem por acaso. É fruto de uma intensa jor-nada para dentro de si mesmo. Particular-mente, creio que muitos jovens afrodescen-dentes assim como eu viveram esse tipo debusca pela qual ele passou durante a suajuventude que inexoravelmente culminacom o retorno à nossa origem, que é africa-na. Como diria o grande Martin Luther KingJr. “Quem somos nós? Somos descenden-tes de escravos. Somos a prole de homens emulheres dignos que foram arrancados deseus lares e acorrentados em navios comoanimais. Somos os herdeiros de um grandee explorado continente conhecido comoÁfrica. Somos os herdeiros de um passadode humilhação, fogo e assassinato. Eu pes-soalmente não me envergonho desse pas-sado. Envergonho-me, sim, daqueles que setornaram desumanos a ponto de torturar-nos desse modo.” Esse tipo de autoconhe-cimento, esta intensa jornada é algo funda-mental para a construção do tipo de caráterexcepcional que ele tem. Alguém que liderapelo exemplo, com integridade e desempe-nho. A pessoa à altura do desafio de assu-mir o leme da nação mais poderosa domundo durante uma das maiores crises quejá ocorreu. Com certeza sua eleição parapresidente foi o acontecimento histórico aoqual presenciei,

,que mais me emocionou. Obama repre-senta a vitória de todos nós, todos os ir-mãos e irmãs filhos da Mãe África. “Yes,we can!”

An authentic leader

Por Fábio Vinicius Novaes Vieira, estudanteuniversitário

by Fábio Vinicius Novaes Vieira*

*college student

Fábio Vinicius Novaes Vieira

Barack Obama is someone who demonstrates to bevery authentic, in all his public appearances or even alongthe statements on his books or interviews given by friendsor family members. This kind of authenticity, as well ashis confidence, is not a coincidence. It is the result of anintense journey towards himself. Particularly, I believethat many Afro-descendants just like me have lived thetype of quest that he has experimented during his youthand that unavoidably will culminate with the return toour roots, which is African. As late Martin Luther kingJr would say: “Who are we? We are the descendants ofslaves. We are the offsprings of dignified men and womenwho were kidnapped from their homes and chained inslave ships as animals. We are the heirs of a great andexploited continent known as Africa. We´re the heirs ofpast full of humiliation, fire and assassination. I person-ally am not ashamed of this past. I am ashamed, indeed,of those who became dehumanized to the point of tor-turing us in that way”. This kind of self knowledge andthis intense journey is essential for the building of thetype of exceptional character that Obama has. Someonewho leads by setting the example based on integrity andperformance. A person fit to the challenge of takingover the control of the most powerful nation of theworld during the worst known crisis. Certainly Obama´selection for president has been the historical fact, amongthose that I have witnessed, the one that has emotion-ally affected me the most. Obama represents the victoryof us all. We, the brothers and sisters. The siblings ofMother Africa. “Yes, we can”

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highly educated African Americans. And there´s more toit: according to the author of “Inside Obama´s Brain –Sasha Abramsky (2009), “(the Joshua was) a generationcommitted to both historical knowledge as well as a his-torical sense of mission. A sense of debt and obligation tothose (people) who came before. Those heroes who sacri-ficed themselves and overcame several barriers.

The most powerful man in the world, called “Barry” byhis friends and family, is also able to deal with racial issuesas no other man. Although the African Americans corre-spond to nearly circa 13% of the population of the UnitedStates, Obama succeeded in putting together Blacks, His-panics, White and Asians aligned to a Nation.

The journey to self knowledge taken since early stagesof his life confers priceless characteristics to Barack Obama,like: emotional intelligence, focus, discipline, organizationand self confidence. According to statements made by hisfriends and colleagues, Obama is “someone who feels com-fortable for being himself.” He can struggle for an extraor-dinary ambition and keep himself upright at the same time,he can keep himself loyal to the principles that have madehim who he is. After the reading of his first book, we ac-quired other publications about Obama.

Obviously that from this moment on, it was impos-TV repórter in Paraná. Master in Comunication and Languages and CollegeTeacher.

sible to disregard what was happening in America. As thepolitical campaign warmed up, our support to him grewbigger. At the convention that confirmed his nominationby the Democratic Party, Barack Obama delivered a his-torical speech. Charismatic, he talked about freedom, fight-ing racism, foreseeing a nation of all races. He also talkedabout the end of the Iraq War. A pacifist! He was thecandidate who proposed big changes. Afterwards he wouldsay: “The world has changed and we have to change withit”. We followed up on each political survey statistics andwe sheered with his advancements during the presiden-tial dispute! The slogan for the campaign, “Yes we can”,was contagious. All of that boosted our admiration forhim and our hope to see a black man assuming the posi-tion of president of the United States.

On that November 4th, 2008, we could barely believe.It seemed like a dream! A marvelous sensation came, nearlyan ecstasy, upon the confirmation of Barack Obama as thepresident of the United States. A fact that tasted like anunusual victory. He was simply the first black man to everlead the most powerful nation of the planet. A good rea-son for the pride of us all, Afro-descendants.

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I really don´t believe that Obama has been disappointing, because I understandhow hard it has been for him and I think that when he stepped on the road hedid it with the real intention of doing the best for the United States and for thepeople of this country. So I believe that not doing it is not intentional and Ibelieve that that is a learning route for anyone.

Oprah Winfrey´s,* Statement given during an interview to Piers Morgan TonightTV program, on CNN.

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Obama conquers

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BrazilBy Rejane Romano


On March 19th, at 07h:31 p.m.the airplane of the 9th U.S. Presidentto ever step on Brazilian soil did landin Brasilia. The big difference thenis that this president is the first Af-rican american to assume the ut-most leading position of the worldand that was the first time he evervisited Brazil.

While in Brasilia, Barack Oba-ma delivered the speech at Paláciodo Planalto, opening it up with therelationship between Brazil and theUnited States, then going to thedemonstrations in Libya and finallyrecalling President Dilma Roussef´scourage during dictatorship timesin Brazil. Since the first moment theU.S. leader indicated that the “Let-ter of Intent would be awesomelygood”.

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The first Lady, Michelle Obamaand daughters Sasha and Malia ac-companied the President, always at-tentive to the locations to be visited.Mrs. Obama, taken as one of thebest-dressed women in the world,confirmed that impression. Attired inappropriate long dresses for each vis-ited place, producing various wellgroomed and refined clothing,Michelle displayed her strong andremarkable personality. The FirstLady payed homage to the Braziliansduring her visit to Cidade de Deuscommunity, in Rio de Janeiro, as shedid put on a green and yellow dress.While still in Brasilia, Michelle couldhave a little flavor of Brazil when shewatched a Capoeira and percussionperformance at Oca da Tribo.

As for Rio, on March 20th, a trulyarmy was mobilized to guarantee the

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security of the Obama family. Over800 men, armored cars, White Houseconnected state-of-the-edge technol-ogy and helicopters escorted thepresident at all visited sites.

The visit to Cidade de Deus washistoric. President Obama evenbriefly walked off of his security de-tail somewhat to wave at local resi-dents. Together with his wife anddaughters, he watched a capoeira per-formance and even exchanged somesoccer ball kicks with the childrenfrom Cidade de Deus.

For the local residents, the im-pression taken from the U.S. Presi-dent was unanimous: “A wide-smil-ing simple man”, they said.

At 14h30, those 1800 inviteeswho packed up at Theatro Munici-pal do Rio de Janeiro, witnessed arelaxed Obama, with no ties on,

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spreading grace as he made use ofseveral words in Portuguese. Be-sides, Obama indicated some knowl-edge on Brazilian music, customsand writers.

The first sentence from the char-ismatic Obama was: “Olá CidadeMaravilhosa”, in a slightly affectedaccent. He then thanked the attend-ees for being there on a Vasco XBotafogo game day, demonstratinghow well aware he was of the impor-tance that Brazilian people give tosoccer matches.

Obama went on even further,using his knowledge about Brazilianculture when he cited “BlackOrpheus - Orfeu Negro”, a produc-tion inspired on a Vinicius deMoraes´ work, which the presidentdeclared to have seen in his childhoodwith his mother, who became en-chanted with Brazil through the im-

ages seen in the film. “And I neverimagined that this country would beeven more beautiful than it was in themovie. You are, as Jorge Ben-Jorsang, “A tropical country, blessed byGod, and beautiful by nature”, Oba-ma highlighted, amidst applauses.

During all his speech the U.S.leader reinforced the importance onthe bilateral partnerships between theUnites States and Brazil. He thentalked about the similarities in theindependence struggles of the twocountries and how important that

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moment of Brazilian History was forthe establishment of Democracy.“Brazil today is a flourishing democ-racy — a place where people are freeto speak their mind and choose theirleaders; where a poor kid fromPernambuco can rise from the floorsof a copper factory to the highestoffice in Brazil”

Obama also emphasized that“the progress made by the Brazilianpeople has inspired the world. Morethan half of this nation is now con-sidered middle class. Millions havebeen lifted from poverty. For thefirst time, hope is returning to placeswhere fear had long prevailed. I sawthis today when I visited Cidade deDeus — the City of God” and he

completed, “As one young residentsaid, “People have to look at favelasnot with pity, but as a source ofpresidents and lawyers and doctors,artists, and people with solutions”.

The U.S. President abundantlyused the word “together”, transmit-ting the clear message of inten-tional equal partnership with Bra-zil, concerning sustainability andsecurity issues, as well as support-ive actions towards African coun-tries. “From Africa to Haiti, we areworking side by side to combat thehunger, disease, and corruptionthat can rot a society and rob hu-man beings of dignity and oppor-tunity. And as two countries thathave been greatly enriched by our

African heritage, it’s absolutely vitalthat we are working with the conti-nent of Africa to help lift it up.“That is something that we shouldbe committed to doing together”.

During his speech, Obama saidthat he intends to come back to Bra-zil for the Olympic Games in 2016,in Rio de Janeiro. At the end, hequotes writer Paulo Coelho. “Withthe strength of our love and our will,we can change our destiny, as well asthe destiny.

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The visit of the U.S. President Barack Obama to Brazil, led by President Dilma Rousseff, registers a moment of greatsymbolic dimension, due to the fact that each of these heads of state has overcome a barrier : the one of race and the oneof gender, respectively. Each President, therefore, endow themselves with their own greatness for having succeeded in somany stages, for knowing how to take part in a collective task, for crossing the frontiers of what was expected from thembased on their gender and racial conditions.The elections leading to their assuming of power also reflect the onset ofimportant changes in their respective countries.These two leaders incarnate the expectancies and hopes for both the lessprivileged and those discriminated against, and because of that both of the presidents are to face difficulties andresistances from conservative sectors. Each president obliges themselves to negotiate and give ways in order to keep theirprojects alive.Regarding Obama, besides the crisis in the financial sector that crippled the U.S. economy, the hatefulrightist reaction has enhanced racism and drowned several projects he has proposed to build up. U.S. military, nowacting in Iraq and Afghanistan, is still sustained by a deeply rooted institutional racism. The figure of a black presidentdoes not eradicate this racism from the military-oriented mindset of a country whose internal democracy is interpretedthrough the violent and unbridled search for the opening of all terrains in the world suit to any economic exploitation intheir benefit. Nevertheless, the fact that nowadays a black child can benchmark oneself against such presidential figuremeans a very fundamental and positive change.Abdias Nascimento,Former Brazilian Senator and founder of IPEAFRO - Institute of Afro Brazilians Researches and Studies.

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For liberty and citizenship werethe voices that shouted, the meaningof fight and the most sacred reasonsthat rocked the heroic battles anddreams from our ancestors. By theirhonor and to homage them they gavetheir lives and their hope in convic-tion and eternity.

It was in defense of liberty, injustice and equality that in 1955, MrsRosa Parks, a black American dress-maker refused to give her seat in theback of a bus to a white man, as thelaws of her country determined.

It was in defense of equality andjustice that, in 1960, in the city ofShaperville, South African black men,women and children were blastedstumbled by the well-aimed shot fromApartheid forces, for they claimed forliberty to both enter and exit in pub-lic or private places in their country.

The election of Mr Barack Oba-ma to be the President of the UnitedStates of America was one of thosesingle events that revived the hopeand spread optimism every place inthe planet where there were lack offaith and pessimism, that allowed a

general atonement from the dreamsand utopias that rocked the belief andthe fight of our ancestors.

In contradition to the Americanarchetype, Mr Obama, the nonsense,stimulated the imagination of themost American citizens compressedit to his own person, the metaphorof his political message: the need andthe possibility to American societyjump forward to begin a new time.

Surprisingly, the country whichhistorical course and social relationswere strongly marked by discrimina-tion and racial aversion against ablack people minority suffraged inthe ballot-box by the votes from awhite people majority, the rising tothe main position in the nation, thefirst black American President,elected by the most black and whitepopulation of the country.

As soon as they stepped on Bra-zilian soil, Mr Obama and his familynoted the likeness of his everydayduties and path and, safely, they hadto review the historic memory of thereasons and requerements of the sa-cred fights made by their either long

forgotten or contemporary ancestors.In the country of the most long

lasting black slavery of the history,the fifth population of the planet, thebiggest black contingent out of Af-rica, and with the most of its citizensbeing self declared black people, thepresident noted that there was nomore than a single black general topay reverence, more than one jour-nalist to listen to his confidences.

Mr Obama noted that there wereno black people to meet him at theairport amongst Brazilian ambassa-dors, not even taking part with himof political or undertakers meetingsof high position. He checked that,differently from the American basis,Brazil, the seventh worldwideeconomy did not meet on high ech-elon and even in all employers list, ablack man among hundreds ofAmerican companies settled in thiscountry, as well as it would be diffi-cult for him to find any black peopleworking on Brazilian companies.

The representative president notedthat, differently of the price and thepromise of citizenship which was de-

yesBy José Vicentewecan


*José Vicente, rector of Zumbi dos PalmaresCollege.

fended with the blood of their ances-tors, while his country, 60 years afterthe end of Apartheid’s laws gives us ablack president, there was no blackpeople ordering in the most recognizedBrazilian restaurants, even if there isany law to prevent them to do it.

At last, he noted that it will not beeasy to honor the ancestors’ memoryand beliefs and perform the sacredobligation of safety restoring the giftof liberty to our future generations,as he announced during his taking of-fice speech. And he also noted that,in Brazil, even if he tries to suggestthat the future has come, the cold re-ality will conduct us to agree that itstill remain at the corner.

But as I could testify by myselfat the speech to Brazilian people, atthe Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan The-ater, Mr Obama is both the expres-sion and the inflexible fountain ofbelief, strength and immemorial lu-minosity. He is the inspirationalsource and the self materialization ofpossibilities. He is the live reality ofthe surpass power.

A man and an idea transformedinto a symbol of force that exceededwhat was inconsiderate and idealizedby a ravishing way themeaning ofchanging which was inwardly invokedand desired by his citizens. An extraor-dinary act, and an actual revolution.

If South African Apartheid del-egated Mr. Mandela, the democracyand the liberty to South Africanpeople. If American Apartheid del-egates Mrs Rosa Parka, Mr MartinLuther King, the Human Rights andMr Obama as President of theUnited States, nothing and nobodycan stop the fullness for both democ-racy and equality to Brazilian people.Yes, we can.

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afirmativa magazine 37 - english version

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