Coletivo Negro creates primer on political education for elementary school students
Analyzing the political scenario and understanding how important young people are in the electoral process, the Afronte Coletivo created a booklet that intends to facilitate access to political education in public schools.
Credit: Divulgation
By: Eduarda Nunes / Lupa do Bem – Favela em Pauta
The digital booklet “Political Education and Human Rights” was created and launched in 2021 as an adaptation of a political education project for public school students in Pernambuco.
The significant drop in the number of 16 to 18 year olds eligible to vote this year has caught the country’s attention. Campaigns to encourage this public to register to vote by May 4th have been led by public institutions and civil society organizations, as well as by artists and influencers.
Afronte Coletivo (Collective Afronte) is an organization created by black students from the Federal University of Pernambuco in 2015. Education and ethno-racial relations are the main themes of the group’s work since then.
And it was from the experiences inside and outside the university, aligned with the political moment that was being designed for the 2022 electoral process, that political education became a focus of debate.
“Understanding that, besides being a racial and social issue, the invisibilization of the black and indigenous population is, above all, a public policy of preservation of status and power, we prepared a project that aimed to discuss Political Education and Human Rights with high school students in order to deconstruct the myth that politics is not a subject for discussion”. – text promoting the booklet.
Since it was impossible to talk to the students in person at the public schools, the group systematized the information in the digital booklet and made it available for teachers and other groups interested in debating the theme at school to use.
Besides concepts about the electoral process itself, such as the definition of democracy, the three powers, and the proportional and majoritarian election systems, the booklet also brings up issues such as ideology, social minorities, and human rights.
“Our goal is to help people understand how institutional politics happens and to bring people closer to this discussion. After all, politics interferes even in the price of bread, gas, and energy bills, right?
João Pedro Simões is a political scientist and co-founder of Afronte. He points out that the booklet, “Strengthens democracy and popular participation in the incidence on public institutions such as City Hall and City Council. Armed with factual information, social educators are empowered with the political reality and the possible paths to be followed to meet their demands.”
The expectation now is to continue increasing the reach and impact of the booklet. “We hope that the ideas of respect for diversity, human rights, and democratic participation will be assimilated and passed on to the peripheral territories of Recife’s Metropolitan Region,” says the political scientist.
How to follow and support the Afronte Coletivo (Collective Afronte)
The organization was formed in 2015 and is the first black collective created at the Federal University of Pernambuco. The initial goal was to be a space to welcome and address common issues experienced by black students – which increased every year due to Law 12.711/2012, which instituted social and racial quotas for admission to federal universities.
From the performance inside the unviersity, the collective became part of the black movement in Recife, building joint actions and following the anti-racist agenda of the Metropolitan Region of Recife.
Currently it is part of the Articulação Negra de Pernambuco, which is part of the Coalizão Negra Por Direitos. To follow and support the work of Afronte Coletivo (Collective Afronte), follow them on Instagram.
