Active militancy of the word

black literary movement and politics in Cadernos Negros (1978-1987)

Abstract

This article aims to historicize the Cadernos Negros anthology, first published in 1978, focusing particularly on its trajectory in the second half of the 20th century in Brazil. In the context of the final years of the Military Dictatorship, this Black literary movement organized itself, mobilizing various intellectuals, and contested—both internally and externally—spaces, positions, and perspectives, building bridges between literature and politics. To achieve this, the object of analysis in this article will be, in addition to bibliographic sources on the history and trajectory of Cadernos Negros, the book Criação Criola, Nu Elefante Branco (1987), an anthology of essays presented at the First Meeting of Poets and Fiction Writers, held in 1985 in São Paulo, and later published in the book. Thus, this article aims to reflect on the themes, debates, tensions, and struggles that were prominent among this group of Black individuals who chose literature as a space, stage, and means to mobilize the fight against racism within a specific historical context.