In the last NEH seminar I attended there was a Brazilian scholar who gave a talk about the African cultural origins of “our Negroes,” as she said. White Brazilian scholars and European scholars of Brazil are very concerned about the negative influence Black persons and movements from the United States and, to some extent, the Caribbean may have on Afro-Brazilians … the United States being imperialist and all.
I really wonder to what extent this is just fear of slave rebellions. Louisianians were terrified of the Haitian slaves who arrived after the revolution, because Haitians were known to have rebellion on their minds. Some people in southern Brazil would not buy Bahian slaves for that reason, especially if they were related to any famous rebels.
There were parts of Africa that were supposed to produce revolutionaries, and some people would not buy slaves from those regions. And my ancestor was concerned about hosting the Cajuns since by speaking French and practicing Catholicism they would remind his Caribbean slaves of their identity, which would not be good for pacification.
The idea that the poor, gullible Afro-Brazilians are under the influence of American imperialists like Malcolm X sounds similar to me. Is it different?
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 