In search of the “new Abolition”: the trajectory of the black newspaper Alvorada (1945-1948)

Abstract

The newspaper Alvorada constitutes an important page in the history of the black press and the black movement in Brazil. This article is dedicated to reflecting on its trajectory and performance as a black newspaper in the city of São Paulo in the 1940s, more precisely in the context of the fall of the Estado Novo and subsequent process of redemocratization. The proposal is to demonstrate how the newspaper Alvorada, through black intellectuals, inserted itself into debates on racial issues, participated in black struggles and presented projects for the nation, giving centrality to black populations. The periodical became a privileged place for the production and dissemination of counter-hegemonic narratives by black intellectuals, through its pages black women and men resisted and organized themselves politically. The study presents, from a historical perspective, how the newspaper, despite its ephemeral duration, contributed to deconstructing the farce of racial democracy, denouncing racism and the struggle of the black movement to reposition the place of black people in the history of Brazil. The newspaper, closely linked to the Associação dos Negros Brasileiros, defended associations as the main strategy for the dawn of a “new abolition” in the country. The work is an invitation to reflect, explore and understand the relevant role of the black press in debates on racial issues throughout history.