Entre avanços, silêncios e desafios históricos: branquitude, relações étnico-raciais e implementação da Lei nº 10.639/03 na Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (2003-2023)

Abstract

The Act n. 10,639/03 establishes the inclusion of Afro-Brazilian and African history and culture in the formal educational system, with the purpose of promoting a broad review of how Black people were and are still depicted in Brazilian history. In other words, it seeks to reclaim the contributions of this group in the social, economic, and political spheres and, even more importantly, to reposition them in the present day. The enactment of this regulation, a historical landmark that resulted from countless previous mobilizations by the Black movement, inaugurates a sequence of other anti-racist provisions directed at education in Brazilian federal legislation. In the context of this study,we focus our attention on the Act n. 12.711/12, commonly known as "Racial quota Law," are policies which allowed access to federal universities for graduates of public schools, Black people, and Indigenous people. This research aims to shed light on the first two decades of the implementation of Act n. 10.639/03 (2003-2023) at the main campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), located in Juiz de Fora (MG). It intends to understand the historical advances, silences, and challenges faced by this institution in regards to ethnic-racial relations and the democratization of academic space, based on the memories and understandings of the academic community's members, both white and black, with an emphasis on observing the behavior of the white management when called upon to implement anti-racist regulations. To this end, in addition to document analysis, 22 thematic oral interviews were conducted, grounded in critical studies of whiteness, with the three professional segments that comprise the University: faculty, technical-administrative staff, retirees and active employees, alumni, and undergraduates, self-declared white and black, from different generations.