Critical Essay on Deeply Rooted in Present: Heritage, Memory, and Identity in Brazilian Quilombos

Introduction

The Book, "Deeply Rooted in Present: Heritage, memory, and Identity in Brazilian Quilombos," written by Mary Lorena Kenny aims at explaining the Quilombos' culture who are the maroon communities in Brazil. Kenny (4) explained that these groups comprise the minority in Brazil as the Brazilian Federal State identify them as the descendants of the Traditional Black Settlers during the slavery time. It is important to note that the slaves comprise slaves that had been bought into the region together with the ones who had escaped from slaver from the White Settlers' area (Kenny, 4). Importantly, Kenny's book covers most of the concepts that I have learned lass concerning ethnography. In this essay, therefore, I shoe the connection of the ideas learned in class, particularly concerning "Selective Perspective Identity," with the arguments presented by Kenny in her book.

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Notably, selective perspective, as I have learned in class, refers to how people perceive and interpret messages, especially from the media, based on what they know without considering other viewpoints. Often these messages come in the form of stereotypes as they do not draw from any scientific-proven data. Such perception results in the formation of identities which, in turn, are usually diminishing to the victims since they primarily entail negativity. The ethnographic aspects that emerge in this context include the race, language and gender.

The primary identity issue portrayed in "Deeply Rooted in Present: Heritage, memory, and Identity in Brazilian Quilombolas" concern racism and ethnicity. According to Gracia (84), the race is a controversial topic that brews a lot of sensitive emotions globally. Gracia (84) argues that race emerges from a biological angle. People of the same race share a natural history that could be defined using physical or genetic features (Gracia, 84). For instance, the Black Racial group consist of people who have dark skin colour and are usually gigantic. However, the media and other cultural anthropologists deny this definition, and they argue that race emerges from cultural and social grounds (Gracia, 84). Importantly, they define race as the people who share the same historical background, language and norms. However, it is essential to note that the media depicts a negative picture of racial distinct; thus, increasing its controversy.

Kenny's book is mainly about the Quilombolas, who are the black community in Brazil. According to Kenny (5), the black people, the Quilombola, are subjected to modern slavery of discrimination and hate. Ironically, as Kenny (5) explains, these are the same people who had run away from slavery in the White Man's land. First, both the government and the media have a negative impression concerning the Quilombola, which, in turn, affects the native Brazilian community at large on how they view them (Kenny, 18).

Chiefly, despite the government efforts in acknowledging the existence of the Quilombola as Brazilian citizens, they still consider them as the Aboriginal communities to be associated with violence and other criminal activities (Kenny, 18). The fact that they were subjected to slavery acts that involved inhumane treatment makes them more culpable of violence, as insisted by the federal officials (Kenny, 18). As a result, the government has refused to grant land titles to the Quilombola settlers due to the perceived fear of crime involvement. Kenny (20) argued that there is a massive objection of the acknowledgement of the Quilombola and their issuing of land legally as they are considered to be the significant perpetrators of drug trafficking in Brazil.

Again, the maroon communities face economic discrimination. The question of "Who is a Quilombola?" raises much uproar in the economic perspective in Brazil, as noted by Kenny (20). Notably, the Federal Government of Brazil defines a Quilombola as the descendants of the traditional black settlers who had escaped slavery in the 18th century (Kenny, 20). However, the government always suspect that some members of the aboriginal communities are fake Quilombola who want to inherit the Brazilian land; thus, they still demand them to prove their identity (Kenny, 20).

Consequently, the above definition of a Quilombola by the government results in the massive discrimination of the Quilombola. As pointed out by Kenny (20), the federal's description made the natives and other powerful social groups in the country realise that the Quilombolas have weak heritage background; thus, they are less important. They are considered the poorest among the Brazilian ethnic groups as they are denied the chance to develop themselves economically. They are denied job opportunities and also the legalisation of their citizenship through the objection of their land titles, which mark the most significant drawback to the living in Brazil (Kenny, 23). Even though the Palmares Foundation (FCP) insists that the Quilombolas have right to own title deeds, influential organisations in Brazil strongly object it (Kenny, 23). Therefore, the Quilombolas continue to languish in absolute poverty as they lack the means to earn their source of living.

Additionally, the racial identity of the Quilombola denies fairness in the justice system. As mentioned above, they are mostly perceived to be associated with criminalities due to their background (Kenny, 18). Their originality as descendants of slaves who were subjected to servitude during the colonisation period justifies them to be the rejected group in society (Kenny, 46). Also, as mentioned above, their historical experience with the inhumanity from slavery makes people think that they are both psychologically and physically capable of committing the crime (Kenny, 18). Again, their poor economic status as a result of their identity discrimination contributes to their suffering of injustices (Kenny, 47). It is important to note that poverty is often linked with law-breaking as several researchers have proven since the people depend on it for survival or source of living. However, in most cases, the innocent "culprits" are misjudged due to their status, together with their background.

For example, in the case of the Quilombola, as noted by Kenny (47), a significant number of them are often accused of falsely and are denied the chance of defending themselves in court. Besides, they usually face harsh sentences for minor crimes, which is against the statutory law; thus, making most of them languish in prisons and other corrective facilities (Kenny, 47). Worse, they are subjected to extra-judicial killings by police and other law enforcers due to the thought that they are dangerously involved in crime (Kenny, 48).

Conclusion

In conclusion, identity as a selective perspective issue is dangerous in society as it causes cultural divisions. More so, the divisive societal nature contributes to the discrimination and mistreatment of groups that are considered weak when, in reality, they are not. Importantly, Kenny' book, "Deeply Rooted in Present: Heritage, memory, and Identity in Brazilian Quilombos," plays an important role boosting the comprehension of selective identity, particularly, the racial angle. It is an interpretation of how such identities can cause harm to society as they promote inhumanely acts.

Works Cited

Garcia, D. J. Chapter 5-Race and Ethnicity. Millersville University of Pennsylvania, 2019.

Kenny, L. M. "Deeply Rooted in Present: Heritage, memory, and Identity in Brazilian Quilombos." University of Toronto Press, 2018.