FGV launches Little Africa Chair with support from municipal government of Rio

On Wednesday, March 20, FGV will launch the Little Africa Chair, at Casa Escrevivência in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Saúde. The initiative, which is supported by the municipal government of Rio, aims to give greater visibility and depth to studies of the theoretical writings of black male and female thinkers, valuing the plurality of knowledge.

The Little Africa Chair is Brazil’s first academic chair dedicated entirely to black intellectuals, with the goal of stimulating interdisciplinary debate on social, cultural and academic issues to be proposed by black people with a recognized track record as thought leaders and in influencing public policies and programs.

To carry out these activities, an advisory committee for the chair has been set up, composed of eight intellectuals who stand out for their knowledge production and influence in their fields of activity, focusing on education, culture and public policies. The committee members are as follows:

• Ayrson Heráclito – Visual artist, professor at Recôncavo da Bahia Federal University and curator
• Benedito Gonçalves – Superior Court of Appeals justice
• Conceição Evaristo – Professor and writer
• Dione Oliveira Moura – Professor and director of the University of Brasilia’s School of Communication
• Jurema Werneck – Physician and executive director of Amnesty International’s Brazilian arm, with a doctorate in communication and culture from Rio de Janeiro Federal University
• Muniz Sodré de Araújo Cabral – Sociologist, journalist, professor at Rio de Janeiro Federal University and writer
• Sonia Guimarães – Scientist, researcher, professor and chairwoman of the Brazilian Physics Society’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Commission
• Thiago Amparo – Professor at the FGV Sao Paulo Law School and FGV School of International Relations

Chair to have three holders; first activity will be a walk

The Little Africa Chair’s advisory committee has decided that in its first year, the chair will have three holders. The three appointed people are:

• Inaicyra Falcão, professor and opera singer
• Leda Maria Martins, poet
• Rosana Paulino, artist

To launch the project, a walk will take place, starting at Casa Escrevivência, where two of the three chair-holders will be welcomed by writer Conceição Evaristo, a member of the chair’s selection committee, and by the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes. Everyone will then walk to Valongo Quay, one of the landmarks of Afro-Brazilian culture in the city’s port district. The artist Rosana Paulino will not be participating in this event, as she will be opening an exhibition at the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires on the same day.