From skin to hair: Racism in the identity construction of quilombola children and young people and their forms of resistance

Abstract

identity formation of the black people›s body is marked by the Eurocentric model that establishes a rejection for everything that escapes from whiteness. The work investigated how racism crosses the bodies of quilombolas children and young people and how they can resist this oppression. The results of analyzing came from a research-intervention with 30 children and young people between 3 to 24 years old from a community quilombola, in Campos dos Goytacazes-RJ. The results indicated a reproduction of racism and internalization of a “white ego ideal”. However, the resistance was shown by black children and young people in the valorization of curly hair, in the identification with peers and in the feeling of belonging to the community. The results revealed a necessity of Psychology acting in a denaturalization of white subjects as centrality and strengthening of resources and strategies for black subjects resistance in the fight against the perpetuation of racism.