From law to classroom chalk

the reception of law 10.639 and the education of ethnic-racial relations by teachers of basic education

Abstract

The myth of Brazil as a paradise of ethnic-racial democracy fades away daily before marked social marginalization and high levels of violence against afro descendants in this country, which have increased in spite of several public measures. In the educational field, ethnic-racial relations are covered by Law 10.639/2003 and by resolution CP/CE No. 1 of 2004, which established the national curricular guidelines for the subject treatment, wishing to ensure social participation of groups historically placed on the sidelines. In this present paper, the historical course of institution of these legal proposals is confronted by the perception of teachers from two public schools in Rio Grande do Sul, from a field research, in order to problematize the understanding and the applicability of the law in a real school context. Teachers' speech, in their conceptual contradictions, their revelations and omissions, lead to a silencing process or racism naturalization in educational institutions. The myth of Brazil as a paradise of ethnic-racial democracy fades away daily before marked social marginalization and high levels of violence against afro descendants in this country, which have increased in spite of several public measures. In the educational field, ethnic-racial relations are covered by Law 10.639/2003 and by resolution CP/CE No. 1 of 2004, which established the national curricular guidelines for the subject treatment, wishing to ensure social participation of groups historically placed on the sidelines. In this present paper, the historical course of institution of these legal proposals is confronted by the perception of teachers from two public schools in Rio Grande do Sul, from a field research, in order to problematize the understanding and the applicability of the law in a real school context. Teachers' speech, in their conceptual contradictions, their revelations and omissions, lead to a silencing process or racism naturalization in educational institutions.