Considered one of the last countries in the world, but the one that brought the most enslaved people from Africa, Brazil remembers this Thursday, May 13th, the National Day for the Abolition of Slavery. While the history books register the date as a great event, the discussion and the fight for equality are still going on, in the 21st century, in Brazil and in other parts of the world. Registering the date, the General Internal Affairs Office of the Court of Justice of the State of Tocantins, through the Citizenship Coordination, in partnership with the Superior School of the Judges of the Stte of Tocantins (ESMAT) held, on Tuesday morning (13th), the Webinar Structural and Institutional Racism: Dialogues in the Justice System of the State of Tocantins. The event took place in virtual mode due to pandemic restrictions.
Opening the morning debates, the Chief Justice, Judge Etelvina Maria Sampaio Felipe, reminded that it is necessary not only from the Public Power, but from the whole society, a wide discussion and combat to racism in the country. "We need an opening for the proposition of concrete actions to be developed in all segments of Justice and in all degrees of Jurisdiction, as public policy directed to the search for the elimination of racial inequalities, so that the law itself and the Justice System are not used as mechanisms for the consolidation and perpetuation of inequalities and structural racism," she said.
Then, Judge Aline Bailão Iglesias, coordinator of the Citizenship Coordination Office, began her speech recalling the importance of discussing attitudes analogous to racism in the Judiciary. "The entire Justice System and all the authorities and employees that work in this system need to talk about racism, exchange experiences, and acquire scientific knowledge about this issue. We believe that knowledge brings about awakening of consciousness, knowledge can change the world," she recalled.
Coordinated by the magistrate José Ribamar Mendes Júnior, the explanations recalled several attitudes and moments in which racism is present in our daily lives. In the first lecture of the morning, judge Renata Nascimento e Silva spoke about "Institutional Racism and the Judiciary". In her speech, the judge traced a timeline of all the historical events concerning the fight for the eradication of racism in Brazil. On the occasion, the judge related the differences between structural racism and institutional racism. "We can see that structural racism is a mechanism that needs nothing to keep running. The mere omission already keeps this mechanism alive. And then institutional racism comes into play. Institutional racism is the reproduction by public and private institutions of the hierarchization of people according to the color of their skin, according to their race," he stressed.
Representing the State Prosecution (MPE), the Prosecutor, Maria Cotinha Bezerra Pereira, recalled that there is already a law in the country that punishes the aggressor for acts of racism and prejudice related to skin color. "We can assume that currently the corpus legalis exists which, in theory, gives visibility to racism. There is visibility in the letter of the law about the issue of racism and the ways to combat it. But I question, what about our daily life, our everyday life? Therefore, we should not be shy, but recognize and face the structural and institutionalized racism in the prisons of the Brazilian Justice System. Finally, it is important to discuss this issue in order to rescue the identity of the Brazilian people when we talk about the fight against racism, legislative application, and how the institutions can contribute to this social turpitude, what we want is the recognition of the black people", she affirmed.
Next, the Public Defender, Denize Souza Leite, spoke about the effects of racism and its effects on black women. "When we talk about black women, we immediately see the image of the domestic worker, of the vocation for domestic service. When we talk about black men one automatically thinks of a criminal, of little knowledge. White men, on the other hand, are complex personalities. Black women are considered not very capable because there is a whole economic, political, and legal system that perpetuates this subordinate condition, keeping them on low wages, out of decision making spaces, and exposed to all kinds of violence", she said.
Finishing, the lawyer Cristian Trindade Ribas talked about State Racism and the Justice System, he remembered that May 13th, the day in which the history books state that princess Isabel signed the Golden Law, takes us to the present day, to a reflection rather than a historical context. "Racism, skin color has always been and still is an element of status of access to humanity and to a certain place. Skin color is still a determinant, whether or not a certain person can be seen, or recognized in a certain place. Our whole society is formed by these aspects. The Brazilian state has the racial element, the slave issue, in its genesis. For almost 400 years, black people did not have the status of humanity. This historical process is reproduced and has profound effects until today. We don't celebrate May 13th as a commemorative date, but as a reflective date," he said.
The objective of the event was to awaken and strengthen the awareness of all the operators of the Justice System in the State of Tocantins as to the importance of fighting and eliminating racial inequalities, as well as to value the importance and richness of a Judiciary with strength in racial representation, in order to create and strengthen spaces for institutionalized speeches with a pluralist approach and the consolidation of public policies that contribute to the eradication of racism and the most diverse forms of discrimination, besides awakening and motivating everyone to study, to have an active voice, and to join forces, will, and purpose of equality in rights and duties.
