“Glory to all inglorious struggles:” negotiations, tensions, disputes, and resistance related to Afro-Brazilian heritage

Abstract

This article reflects on the erasure of the memory of Afro-Brazilian culture from Brazilian museological institutions via categories such as heritage (material and immaterial), museums, and collections. It also contemplates the latent contradictions, negotiations, tensions, and disputes related to Afro-Brazilian heritage and how it is represented in museums. We will analyze how museums focus (or choose not to focus) on this issue by either silencing collections and references to African heritage in many cases or by the near-total absence of museums exclusively dedicated to Afro culture in Brazil. In contrast, some cases of Afro-Brazilian intangible heritage legally protected by federal law and some resulting implications will also be presented. Finally, we will examine Porto Maravilha in Rio de Janeiroas an emblematic case of resistance and erasure, a space where references to this facet of the country’s history are restricted yet meaningful.