Sankofa and root dialogues

revisiting to move forward: racial literacy and afro-brazilian connections

Abstract

In this experience report, we present the Extension activity developed by the Cen­ter for Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Studies (NEABI) of the Instituto Federal Flu­minense Campos Centro campus, carried out between June and July 2024. The action was led by students, a scholarship holder, a volunteer and the coordinating teachers of the Center. "Roots Dialogues" is an educational and informative initia­tive promoted by NEABI through the production and broadcasting of videos on the social network Instagram. The goal is to introduce the page's followers to informa­tion related to Racial Literacy through short videos. The proposal seeks to offer the page's followers a critical approach to topics involving ethnic-racial relations, with accessible language and a simplified format. To carry out the actions, we use strate­gies based on the concept of Sankofa, a symbol that emphasizes the importance of remembering african-american and afro-brazilian history, learning from past mis­takes to avoid repeating them and acquiring knowledge and wisdom for the future. As a theoretical framework, we use the works of Silvio Almeida, Jessé Souza, and Muniz Sodré, who argue that racism is a dilemma for the country, and, together, the work of Schuman, through which we support the centrality of racial literacy as a measure to combat it. Initial results indicate a significant increase in the reach and number of followers of NEABI’s profile, especially among students and teach­ers, who actively interact and share the content. This initial engagement highlights the relevance of the framework in combating racism through racial literacy.