The representation of blacks in the Geography textbooks of 8th grade elementary: first discussions

Abstract

This article is the result of a bibliographical research whose objective was to analyze the representation of Africa and African people through images in two collections of textbooks approved in the National Textbook Programme – PNLD 2014. For this analysis, the books of the 8^th year of Primary Education were chosen. The parameters used to analyze the representation were: a) the Federal Law 10639/2003, which made mandatory the teaching of African and Afro-Brazilian History and Culture in Primary and Secundary Education establishments; b) the appreciation of African and Afro-descendant culture; and c) potentiality to combat racism. According to the theoretical reference investigated, it was perceived that the black person, have been represented in an inferior way in the educational field, being Law 10639/2003 responsible for building another representation of blacks, this time unliked to subalternization. However, after the analysis of the textbooks under study, it was found that there was a small change in the representation of the black image that contributed to the deconstruction of racism, in most part, of the invisibility and subalternization of black people. Being the textbook is a pedagogical tool, it is necessary that Geography teachers identify the stereotypes contained in the content and teach the African Continent so that there is enough time for its discussion. It is necessary to understand and recognize the history of the black and their descendants as participants in the formation of Brazilian culture, in a critical and reflective way, and, through the teaching of Geography and Ethnic-Racial Relations, the content of the study of Africa can bring antiracist and antidiscriminatory ideas and practices, associated with pedagogical projects that promote plurality and racial equality for all. Discussing the ethnic-racial issue in the discipline of Geography allows deconstructing racist stereotypes created about the African Continent, among other issues necessary for the formation of citizens.