The Fight to Get a Black Woman on Bazil’s Supreme Court

On the streets, the project Juízas Negras para Ontem is bridging art and politics. Currently, 14 Brazilian cities — including Manaus (in the Amazon), Porto Alegre (in Southern Brazil), and Salvador (the Blackest capital of the country) — showcase the works of 24 Black artists. All of their artworks stir attention to the importance of the cause. In one mural, artist Ayala Prazeres blends her self-portrait with a powerful quote by Angela Davis: “When the Black woman moves, the whole structure of society moves with her.” In another piece, artist Dacordobarro juxtaposes images of her neighborhood (recognized as a quilombo urbano, an urban community that preserves its African heritage) with three Black woman jurists, and asks: “Can we imagine a Black minister in our country?” Similarly, Alisson Damasceno, an artist from Belo Horizonte, illustrated a Supreme Court Chair surrounded by Saint George’s swords, a sacred symbol for Afro-Brazilian religions.