Abstract

BORGES, Luiz C.. 100% black, t-shirts, insignia and social utopia. Imaginario [online]. 2006, vol.12, n.13, pp. 57-81. ISSN 1413-666X.

The historical struggle of the black population towards emancipation in Brazil, aiming to surpass the asymmetric social conditions to which it continues to be the subject, takes several forms of political-ideological stands, and therefore, displays different levels of fragmentation and both inter and intra ethnic confrontations. The objective of this paper is to examine the statement “100% black”, taken as a foundational discourse by means of the discursive analysis of the theoretical apparatus. Amongst a complex discursive network characterized by ideological and emotive attitudes, the “100% black” discourse stands out as a mythologized and fetishistic understanding of the genetic and cultural African heritage. The political effects of this emerging radical tendency are perceived as the emancipating struggle of the black segment of the Brazilian population that becomes detached from the political endeavors of other equally ill-favored fragments of the Brazilian society, such as the indigenous people, peasants, landless, etc. The central hypothesis proposed herein considers that this outstanding tendency, discursively represented by “100% black”, tends to enclose the black movement in a fetishistic ideal of racial or cultural pureness which reinforces the racism it was supposed to eradicate.

Keywords : Emancipation; Black movement; Utopia; Imaginary; Discourse.

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