Florestan Fernandes, Roger Bastide and the word of black activism

Abstract

In the early 1950s, requested by Unesco, Florestan Fernandes and Roger Bastide developed an extensive research about racial relations in São Paulo. In opposition to Unesco expectative, the research ascertained the existence of racial discrimination in Brazil. Among the methodological strategies adopted were the use of i questionnaires, interviews and life history, in addition to the organization of seminars with leaders of black activism. It was about recording the words of black people who directly faced racism. In The Integration of Black People into Class Society, published in 1964, Fernandes revisited the records of Unesco research with contributions from black activists. These records are available at the Florestan Fernandes Fund, at the Community Library of the Federal University of São Carlos. The analysis of these records highlights the importance of black activism in the formulation of some of the main theses developed in the Unesco research and in the book The Integration of Black People into Class Society.