Young, poor blacks “doomed from birth”

“There's a preset path in store for black teenagers from poor, outskirt areas,” says rapper, social educator Henrique QI, 22, a resident in Recanto das Emas, Federal District.

“They are doomed to be dead by a certain age, and even those who do survive will most likely end up in a youth detention center, and then jail as adults. There is a plan in store for them. The State gives powers for police to kill and mass incarcerate as a ready-made strategy for dealing with blacks from the outskirts,” Henrique went on.

His words are confirmed by the figures. According to the 2014 Violence Map study by the Latin American College of Social Sciences (FLACSO Brazil), out of 56,337 people murdered in the country in 2012, 30,072 were youths, and out of these, 23,160 were blacks.

As Elder Costa, Coordinator of the National Forum on Black Youth, explains, based on a widespread perception of the profile of criminals in Brazil, black young people are seen as enemies to be fought, persecuted, and restrained. “In fact, the public security policies are basically developed against these people rather than as policies to protect lives and provide security,” he maintains.Among those aged 12 or younger, the gap between the number of blacks and whites killed is less significant (1.3 and 2 in every 100,000 people). But among those aged between 12 and 21, the homicide rate for young whites is 37.3 in every 100,000 people, whereas for blacks it gets as high as 89.6 according to the survey.

Besides being the main targets of homicides, blacks make up a majority of prison populations. According to 2013 data from the Ministry of Justice National Prison Department (DEPEN), out of a total 537,790 prison population, 93.92% are male, 50.88% are aged between 18 and 29, and 57.21% are black.

For years, the scale of the problem has prompted black populations to take action. A campaign called “Reaja ou será morto” (“React or be killed”) has been calling blacks to take action against racism since 2005. The campaign actions include an International March Against Genocide of Black People which took place this year, taking people to the streets in 18 Brazilian states and 15 countries.

Hamilton Borges, an active member in the campaign and the Unified Black Movement (MNU), explains the use of the word 'genocide': “Genocide is about physically, culturally, and spiritually eliminating an entire people in their most productive years. That's what is actually happening.”

In his opinion, the State has no public policies that can effectively change this reality, and the only way to address it is to marshal blacks and raise awareness among the other sectors of the population. “Unless we struggle with force and vigor to continue existing, we will be gone in 60 year's time,” he said.

Better public policies

Angela Guimarães, chairwoman of the National Council for Youth and a member of the National Youth Secretariat of the Presidency, pointed out this racial bias is historical and is associated with racism as a legacy structuring Brazil's society. “Systematic repression is one way the State learned to deal with the black population in post-slavery times,” she said, adding that this logic has survived the decades.

She admits that the country faces a “dramatic situation”, and public policies to address the problem, such as the Juventude Viva (Living Youth), were scarce or nonexistent until very recently. The actions of the Juventude Viva are being implemented in the states of Bahia, Alagoas, Paraíba, the Federal District, Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, in the capital and the metropolitan area of São Paulo, and a further 41 municipalities across other states.

“We have successfully taken the first step, which was obtaining recognition for this policy. The second step is a set of efforts run by the federal government in a groundbreaking coordination with 13 ministries to address a common issue [the extermination of black youth],” she explained. For Guimarães, the country now must move on to the next level by expanding its public policies.

A further step to reduce mortality among blacks, she pointed out, would be voting a bill introducing rules for the investigation of crimes involving such state officials as the police. The bill is still pending approval by the Chamber of Deputies, and repeals the “resistance to authority” principle as ground for police to kill (when police tries to claim that the suspect resisted arrest as a pretext for killing them). “We want to break from this pact of silence,” she said.

In Fortaleza, Sandra Sales, mother of a young black woman who was a victim of police brutality, chose to turn grief into action. Alongside other families, she founded the Association of Victims of Police Brutality in Ceará (AVVIPEC).

In February 2013, in a neighborhood in the outskirts of Fortaleza, the state capital, a pre-carnival party ended in tragedy. Following a quarrel between police and local residents over loud music, police officers fired into the crowd. Two black young men were fatally wounded: Igor de Andrade Lima, 16, and Sandra's daughter, Ingrid Mayara, 18.

Following public pressure, two officers involved in the crime were eventually expelled from the force. But only on Thursday (Nov. 20) will the first case witnesses be heard.

“I feel that the law enforcement system doesn't help much towards the outcome we expect, but I won't give in, swear I won't,”  Sandra said. Even fearing for her life, she says she will keep on fighting “to show them we have the right, that justice will prevail, and we will resist.”

Sandra's story finds its echoes in Maria de Fátima da Silva, mother of a dancer known as DG, from Rio de Janeiro, and Débora Maria da Silva, mother of Rogério, from São Paulo. They all had their black, young, poor children lost to murder.

Translated by Mayra Borges

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