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Brazil has a long history of musical activism fighting for racial equality. This activism has been visible and impactful and resounds in the streets of most Brazilian cities. And there is still a lot of work to be done. This presentation explores less blatant but equally damaging forms of systemic racism: the ways in which people think about, write about, and compose music. Drawing on his book Africanness in Action: Essentialism and Imaginations of Africa in Brazil (2021), UC Davis Professor Juan Diego Díaz starts with the simple question: How do black musicians from the state of Bahia (an epicenter of black culture in Brazil) create music when they use the idea of Africa as a source of inspiration? Examining historical writings on stereotypical notions about black and African music and culture, the presentation shows how black musicians from Brazil contribute to the antiracist work of challenging the racial hierarchy imposed and internalized during the period of European colonization in Brazil.
The Aoki Center is an initiative at the University of California, Davis, School of Law to honor the life and work of the late professor, Keith Aoki. Through scholarly research on the intersection of race and law, the Aoki Center draws together faculty throughout the UC Davis campus to advance the fields of civil rights, critical race theory, and immigration issues.
For more information please contact: Nina Bell at nbell@ucdavis.edu
Event sponsored by: Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies, UC Davis Law