This is how Black Brazilians reacted to the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
They were just as happy as us Americans...
Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, has yet to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden or Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris. But this didn’t stopped black people in Brazil from celebrating Trump’s loss and dreaming about Brazil’s future. Similar to Black Americans, many Black Brazilians heralded Kamala Harris as the first woman of color Vice President of the United States. Biden’s win also came just one week before Brazilians will choose the leaders of every city in the country. So there is hope that leftist candidates, and particularly black women, will get a boost in their candidacies. Below I’ve broken down the general the sentiments that I felt across the internet, from friends and even some foes of Kamala Harris.
There is hope that Trump’s loss will lead to Bolsonaro’s loss in 2022.
The image below was shared thousands of times across social media. On the left we have the Statue of Liberty using a mask to ricochet Donald Trump. On the right, we have the Christ the Redeemer ricocheting current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
From Benedita da Silva, the 78-year old woman trying to become Rio de Janeiro’s first black mayor - “Biden's victory marks the beginning of the fall of the extreme right, a wave that can and needs to infect the world. It's a breath in the middle of such a difficult year. Furthermore, it is wonderful to see that we will have Kamala Harris, the first black woman in the vice presidency of the United States.”
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Anielle Franco, the sister of Marielle Franco, said this: Bye Trump! The USA black movement sent you a message that racists and fascists are not welcome. Soon there will be a time when Brazil will say goodbye to its president! Make racists afraid again!
Brazilians are also debating Kamala Harris’ “blackness.”
It took me at least two years to understand that “blackness” in Brazil is determined by one’s phenotype—how they look. So the “one-drop” rule of black blood does not apply in Brazil (if that was the case, Brazil would probably be more than 75% black). So it’s not surprising that many Brazilians are finding it difficult to accept that Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris is black. Some even think that she claimed her blackness only to win black votes for the election 🤦🏿♀️. Black Americans had this conversation, so can I blame Black Brazilians?
Sérgio Camargo, the divisive head of the Palmares foundation, Brazil’s black cultural foundation, even dared to make fun of the debate.
“There are doubts that Kamala Harris is black. Depends.
In USA - black
In Brazil - mixed, brown
In Psol (a far-left political party) - conveniently black. Conveniently black refers to a black person who calls themselves black when they see it can benefit them.”
Black Brazilians paid homage to Kamala Harris AND Stacey Abrams ✊🏿
I love it when the black diaspora comes together to recognize greatness. Black Brazilians didn’t hold back in their praise of Kamala AND Stacey Abrams.
Lista Preta is a popular Black Brazilian twitter feed and the tweet says the following": The democratic victory in Georgia has a name and last name: Stacey Abrams. She was a state deputy who fought for more than 500k black people to be able to register to vote in 2020. Black women do everything!
Black Politicians used the victory to encourage voters to elect more black women into office!
Thais Ferreira said this: Whoever is celebrating that the USA will have the first woman and black vice president: in Brazil, on the 15th, will you vote for a black woman?
Monica Cunha is a black woman running for councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro. This is what she had to say after Biden and Harris were elected:
In the USA, only 13% of the population is black and the anti-racist mobilization was decisive in Biden’s win in Georgia. In Brazil, we are 55% and we can follow this example: vote for black candidates who promote anti-racist measures.
There were moments when Black Brazilian culture and American politics clashed successfully!
On Friday, still the day before the election was called, someone played “Baile de Favela” at a pro-Biden street party in Philadelphia!
Someone even mashed up this drum corps dance of Kamala Harris against the “Baile de Favela” song.