When Zombie Arrives: memory disputes at the Palmares Cultural Foundation (2003-2022)
This research approaches the celebrations of November 20th (Zumbi and Black Consciousness Day) and May 13th (Abolition of Slavery) at Palmares Cultural Foundation, between 2003 and 2022. In this period there were huge changes in the public uses of memory by this institution. In a first cycle, between 2003 and 2018, November 20th was established in the official calendar of celebrations, and criticism of the May 13th increased. In a second cycle, during the Bolsonaro government (2019-2022), the official celebration of Abolition returned, along with a political effort to detract Zumbi’s memory and the Black Consciousness Day. In Pierre Nora's expression, ephemerides or commemorative dates are places of memory, and there is no neutrality or impartiality in official celebrations. In this work, I connect these celebrations and different political projects: whether in favor of promoting racial equality or in favor of dismantling the black population’s social achievements in the New Republic. Thus, the aim is to understand the management of official memory to legitimize or deconstruct political projects of the black Brazilian population.