Women, black and quilombolas: the social empowerment of “as Amélias” group of women from Portalegre/RN

Abstract

This work comes from a dissertation research about quilombola communities from the Upper Potiguar West. However, the interest of studying the group of women named As Amélias arose during the research, when we realized the importance of the group for the Sobrado community, where students who participated in our research live. Thus, the work tries to problematize the triple condition of the members of the women group of Portalegre /RN – being a black, quilombola woman. Its objective is to know the group of women and to realize the importance they have for its members, in order to strengthen them in facing the multiple prejudices that they experience socially due to gender, race and ethnicity. From the methodological point of view the work started from a bibliographic review and the analysis of a written narrative by the quilombola community leader. We approached the black women quilombola group “As Amélias” because we understand that they have a unique importance for the community in which they exist, including the construction of the identity of the local inhabitants, especially the younger ones. As a result of our analysis and reflections on the community leader's narrative, we can point out the Amélias’s political aspect, namely the awareness of the social inequality and exclusion to which they are subjected and the collective organization as a form of struggle, resistance and affirmation of the quilombola identity.