On May 25, Rio de Janeiro’s councilwoman Thais Ferreira, an Afro-Brazilian female political activist, launched a project which intends to show and promote the importance of a historical Afro-Brazilian site located in Rio’s downtown region. The geographical site known as Little Africa, Pequena África in Portuguese, was the gateway door where most Africans were received to work as slaves in Brazil. Little Africa was also a place where freed Black people established themselves to create a huge Black settlement, after the ending of transatlantic slave trade in 1850. However, despite its importance to Brazil’s history, Little Africa has been abandoned for decades. According to Ferreira, the reason might be the attempt of wiping out the Afro-Brazilian heritage in the city. “I can’t imagine another reason, but racism. Even with international recognition, Rio’s Little Africa still doesn’t have the infrastructure to receive visitors and tourists. We are going to change that, by demanding more investments from the city hall.”
SOURCE: TRAVEL NOIRE
More Stories
Top 5 African Travel Destinations To Visit This August
African Countries that don’t Require a Visa to Enter South Africa
South Africans are Now Swelling the Ranks of Explorers Shouldering Backpacks
Getting around West Africa’s Most Populous City can be an Adventure in Itself
The Mauritian Dream
The Newly Reopened Africa Centre Celebrates the Continent’s Culture (and Seriously Chic Room Dividers)
From Bold Prints to Gender Defying Clothes: 4 Things to Know About Contemporary African Fashion
Meet the Nigerian Artist Visualizing Africa’s Future by Reaching into the Past
En Vogue
Interview: Director K is Making Historic Afrobeats Music Videos
Nigeria has Promised to Legalize Local Refineries and Set Up Refining Hubs in the Niger Delta
Central African Ministers Agree to Merge Two Regional Blocs to Boost Trade and Growth