Almerinda Farias Gama: a black union leader who campaigned for women’s issues

On March 8, 1917, thousands of women gathered in Russia to fight for equal rights. They wanted better working and living conditions in the context of famine and the First World War. For this reason, International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8, a date that legitimizes women’s importance in society and the struggle to uphold their rights.

To mark International Women’s Day, we are launching a special series of events called “Women’s Archives,” in partnership with FGV CPDOC. The goal is to briefly present the lives and importance of notable women in Brazilian history whose archives are held by FGV CPDOC.

Almerinda Farias Gama

Almerinda Farias Gama (1899-1999), a lawyer, journalist, union leader, clerk and translator, used her talents to support a greater cause. She joined the Brazilian Federation for Women’s Progress and, together with other women, fought for their right to vote. She was one of the first black women to act in Brazilian politics, in the early 20th century.

She founded the Federal District Union of Typists and Shorthand Writers, and on behalf of this union, she was the only woman to take part as a union representative in the National Constitutional Assembly in 1933. She remained in this role until the constitution was proclaimed in October 1934. 

The following year, she ran for the House of Representatives but did not succeed. However, she remained in politics as the president of the Proletarian Socialist Party of Brazil until 1937, when the party was abolished following the coup that brought in the “Estado Novo” regime (1937-1945). She contributed to newspapers in Pará and Rio de Janeiro, and she was the author of “Zumbi” (1942) and “Luciano’s Finger” (1964). 

In 1984, she gave a long interview to FGV CPDOC as part of the “Old Militant Leaders” project. In 1988, a transcript of the interview was published by Editora Zahar in a book of the same title.

To watch the interview, click here.