O pós-abolição, um quarto de despejo: a sobrevivência como condição histórica em Diário de Bitita, de Carolina Maria de Jesus

Abstract

This research analyzes the impact of the post-abolition of slavery period in Brazil, highlighting how the legal abolition of slavery in 1888 failed to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the Black population. Although perceived as a historical milestone, abolition perpetuated oppression and exclusion through forms such as structural racism, reflected in political silence and the prevailing eugenic discourse, even infiltrating the affected population itself, which Carolina Maria de Jesus conceptually describes as "inciente" (non consciencious). Reading the work of Carolina Maria de Jesus reveals a human perspective on using history education as a critical tool to address post-abolition and the anti-racist struggle. For example, current textbooks tend to silence this subject, focusing on slavery while neglecting the challenges faced by Black individuals after 1888, such as exclusion from citizenship, education, and housing rights. Carolina Maria de Jesus's work, especially Diário de Bitita, serves as an example to concretely illustrate these oppressions by narrating her life experiences in the post-abolition context, demonstrating the origins of many issues that persist today. In this book, Carolina recounts her childhood marked by poverty, prejudice, and violence. She denounces everyday racism, including practices internalized by Black communities themselves, and describes the struggle for survival in a society that marginalized Black individuals even after abolition. Her narrative connects social exclusion to the lack of access to education and dignified work, while migration policies favored Europeans over Black Brazilians. The analysis underscores the importance of teaching history in an inclusive 1Graduanda em História pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte and critical manner, fostering reflection on the continuity of racial inequalities and the Black population’s protagonism in building Brazil.