Fighting Neo-Slavery in the Americas
By Dr. Maya Rockeymoore

November 20, 2003 is Brazil’s day of recognition in honor of Zumbi de Palmares—a 17th century African warrior who escaped slavery and led Brazil’s largest and strongest Quilombo, or fortified town for African escapees.

On the day following this historic occasion, history was to be repeated in Brazil’s capitol of Brasilia with the commencement of the first Meeting of Afro-Descendant Legislators in the Americas and the Caribbean. Convened by Congressman Luiz Alberto—President of Brazil’s Congressional Forum for Racial Equality—the charged two-day conference brought together legislators from eight Central and South American countries including: Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Brazil.

The meeting’s primary purpose was to discuss how Afro-descendant political and policy leaders could share insight, strategies, and resources in order to elevate the status of people of African descent in the Americas.

The event marked the very first time that descendants of former slaves who have achieved public positions of prominence in their respective countries, have reconnected to discuss how to use the political process to further a pan-Africanist Civil Rights agenda.

Why Brazil?
It is perhaps of little surprise that Afro-Brazilians would be the primary driver behind this historic event. After many years of frustrated struggle, the countries relatively small and fracture Black Movement has experienced a quantum boost with the 2002 election of the Worker Party candidate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Under pressure from the Black Movement, President Lula has helped dispel the myth of Brazil’s legendary “racial democracy” by highlighting the continued problem of racism in Brazilian society.

Lula’s support for the creation of a national dialogue on race, his appointment of four Afro-Brazilians to cabinet-level positions and one to the Supreme Court, and his effort to establish a new government agency dedicated to promoting racial equality has created a climate of receptivity perhaps currently unmatched by any other society in the Americas.

The Common Condition of Race
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the two-day discussion was the similar social, economic, and political conditions experienced by Afro-descendant populations in Central and South American countries. Despite recent political gains, Brazilian participants cited statistics showing that Afro-descendants are 50 percent of the population but 80 percent of the poor, less than 2 percent of university students, and less than 5 percent of the nation’s elected officials.

Representative Edgar Torres of Colombia reported that there were more than 10.5 million Afro-descendants in his country, comprising approximately 25 percent of the total population. Among this group, 76.4 percent receive an income that is less than the minimum wage; only 2 percent attend college, and a large majority live in areas where there is an “absence of government services.” Torres shared that Colombia elected its first Afro-descendant member of Congress ten years ago and today there are seven members of Congress currently serving.

The Peruvian representative, Jose Luis Risco, referred to the condition of blacks in his country as a form of “neo-slavery” where the vast majority lack access to homes, health care and many are subject to violence.

Ecuadorian Congressman Rafael Erazo declared racism a structural problem that is endemic throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. In his country, Afro-Ecuadorians are 1.2 million, or 10 percent, of the countries 12 million total population. While blacks have made modest strides, Erazo cited rampant racism that extends to discrimination even within the Congress that he serves--lamenting that he has been unable to get funding dedicated to addressing racial disparities.

Finding Solutions
While the socioeconomic status of Latin Americans of African descent dominated discussions, another prominent concern was the impact of U.S.-led trade agreements--specifically the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas--on Afro-descendant populations in the Americas.

Many participants expressed serious misgivings about whether the initiative would contain any benefits furthering the goal of racial and economic inclusion in Central and South American states. One skeptical participant stated that, “free commerce is not free for people” while another remarked that increased trade does not necessarily result in reduced poverty—particularly for Afro-descendant populations.

Despite marked questions about the significance of U.S. free trade policy, all participants agreed that public policies—if crafted properly—could be used as a vehicle for promoting racial and economic inclusion. Several legislators implored their colleagues to pay particular attention to how the national budget process can be used to direct resources toward persistent racial inequities. All expressed the importance of leveraging their respective political positions to positively impact the distribution of federal, state and local governmental and party resources.

Reminding participants that slavery was the first manifestation of globalization, Magali Naves, a representative of Brazil’s new Special Office for the Promotion of Racial Equality urged attendees to make eradication of racial discrimination the center of new public policies in an effort to reduce the gap between law and reality. She argued that public/private partnerships could be employed in this effort and that social movements should be used to monitor policies.

Toward International Cooperation
The assembled legislators made history yet again with the conference finale and the adoption of the Charter of Brasilia. Cobbled together using recommendations made over the course of the conference, the Charter established a working group of Afro-descendant legislators to work towards creating a permanent secretariat called the Black Parliament of the Americas.

The Parliament would facilitate the active participation of Afro-descendant legislators on important political debates and negotiations taking place in the Americas with the objective of incorporating the vision and perspective of communities of African descent. Among other activities, the Parliament would also work actively towards implementing Civil Rights and other legislation that will advance the status of the target population.

Unlike the United States, which did not officially participate in the World Conference Against Racism and Xenophobia in Durbin, many of the represented countries did have an active role in South Africa. As a result, the World Conference established a framework for discussion and informed the action steps outlined in the Charter of Brasilia.

The opening paragraphs of the Charter of Brasilia pay tribute to Zumbi de Palmares by expressing the sense of the body that the proud hero of the Brazilian liberation struggle will also serve as a model of inspiration for Afro-descendent people throughout the entire region.

It is often remarked that the Quilombo led by Zumbi represented the very first democratic experiment in Brazil. Thus, it is fitting that the spirit of Zumbi would inform the development of a revolutionary body of Afro-descendants possessing the goal of promoting true democracies in their respective countries. For as Costa Rican Congresswoman Epsy Campbell eloquently stated, “Without equal treatment, we have no democracy.”

*A delegation of ten members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus planned to attend the First Meeting of Afro-Descendant Legislators in the Americas and the Caribbean, but was forced to cancel when Congressional leaders extended the session through November 23, 2003.
**A translation of the Charter of Brasilia follows.

Maya Rockeymoore, Ph.D., is Vice-President of Research and Programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.