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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro

Brazil: descendants of Africans who escaped slavery gain census recognition

A traditional Saint John prayer in the quilombola community of Mato do Ticao in Minas Gerais. Many quilombola today suffer racism, marginalization, and lack of visibility.
A traditional Saint John prayer in the quilombola community of Mato do Ticao in Minas Gerais. Many quilombola today suffer racism, marginalization, and lack of visibility. Photograph: Douglas Magno/AFP/Getty Images

More than 1.3 million Brazilians who identify as descendants of Africans who escaped slavery have finally gained recognition in official statistics, marking a victory for this historically excluded population.

The groundbreaking data was released on Thursday as part of Brazil’s 2022 census, during which the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) for the first time counted and mapped the country’s quilombola population – members of often remote Afro-Brazilian communities that were traditionally founded by fugitive slaves.

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