Point of view | On the school ground: the importance of anti-racist education

Top-down legislation alone is not enough; it needs to make sense in the relationships between students, teachers, administrators, and the school community.

The first law enacted by President Lula during his first term was Law 10.639, on January 9, 2003, which made the teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture mandatory across all school curricula, amending the LDB (National Education Guidelines and Framework Law) by adding Article 26-A. Later, Law 11.645/2008 amended the same article, expanding the requirement to also include the history and culture of Indigenous peoples.

We are therefore talking about more than 20 years of mandatory teaching on African, Black, and Indigenous history across the entire country.

But the journey has not been smooth. With the victory of progressive forces in the 2002 elections, agendas on racial equity advanced: the creation of SEPPIR (Special Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality), which had ministerial status (now MIR); the creation of SECADI, the Ministry of Education’s department responsible for inclusive and equity-based educational policies; the enactment of Laws 10.639/03 and 11.645/08; the approval of the Racial Equality Statute in 2010; and the establishment of racial and social quotas in higher education and federal public service exams in 2013, renewed in 2023—the same year that Law 14.532 equated racial slur (injúria racial) with the crime of racism, making it non-bailable and not subject to statute of limitations.

Although education was chosen by the Brazilian Black Movement as one of its main fronts of struggle—and as a key path toward social mobility for Black people—we understand that even with adequate and active legislation, many obstacles still constrain these expectations.

Despite the setbacks experienced since the 2016 parliamentary coup, it is impossible not to recognize the progress made, as listed above. However, racism remains an open wound in Brazilian society. The study Perceptions of Racism in Brazil, conducted by Ipec, Projeto Seta, and Instituto Peregum in 2023, shows that the majority of Brazilians recognize the country as racist and identify racism as the main driver of inequality today (81%). It also highlights that Black people face more police violence, have less access to job opportunities and education, and earn lower incomes. The same study indicates that 69% of respondents consider racism the most important topic to be studied in schools.

Education has always been seen as a strategic space for overcoming racial inequalities. Studies show that as early as the beginning of the 20th century, Black organizations took responsibility for literacy processes and developed their own communication tools, through which they also demanded educational inclusion and access to political rights such as voting, as strategies for social mobility among Afro-descendant populations. School education, valued and advocated by the Black Movement, was one of the main initiatives of the Brazilian Black Front (1931–1937), which created literacy classrooms in the 1930s, and of the Experimental Black Theater, founded by Abdias do Nascimento, active between 1944 and 1961.

Even with a robust legal framework, there are still major challenges. Part of society must still be convinced that racism is an obstacle to the guarantee of rights, that it harms the social development of all, and that it must be overcome. While the study shows that most Brazilians recognize the country as racist, it also reveals a lack of understanding that racism is structural rather than occasional. This creates barriers to implementing effective public policies to combat it, as they face both a lack of political will and the persistence of privileges structurally organized by racism.

The school is a microcosm of society

Education, as a social right guaranteed by the Constitution, must necessarily take a political stance aimed at overcoming racism and racial inequalities. This is clearly a task for all of society and the entire educational system. However, attention must be drawn to the school itself—to what educators call “the school ground,” referring to everyday school life. That is where everything happens—or fails to happen.

We can understand the school as a microcosm that reproduces the same problems found in society. In other words, it reproduces racial, social, class, sexuality, and gender inequalities. It is a space that often struggles with inclusion and reproduces everyday violence. But the school is also a place of potential. Equipped with the right tools, it can become a powerful political agent in combating inequalities and confronting racism.

The educational system, in its complexity, involves multiple levels and actors. But its final—and fundamental—point is the school. Top-down legislation is not enough; it must resonate in the relationships between students, teachers, administrators, and the broader school community. This is undoubtedly one of the main barriers to fully implementing these laws. If Brazil is a racist country and racism is structural, then formal education inevitably reflects a structure that is predominantly white, Western, and patriarchal. Laws 10.639/03 and 11.645/08, along with their curricular guidelines, by introducing systematic discussions on ethnic-racial relations and African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture into school curricula, connect respect for diversity with the social quality of education.

The school is the first place where Black children experience racism (this was my experience nearly 50 years ago, and unfortunately, it remains true for many of us). But it will also be within the school that this reality can be transformed. Beyond legislation, there are many remarkable initiatives already underway: successful experiences implementing Law 10.639/03, innovative and proven methodologies, a vast body of research, data, and evaluation, and well-trained professionals. In short, we are ready.

As Paulo Freire said, education does not transform the world. Education changes people. People transform the world.

Article published in Nexo Jornal in April 2026.