For Land and Liberty
Black Struggles in Rural Brazil
Part of Cambridge Studies on the African Diaspora
- Author: Merle L. Bowen, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Date Published: June 2023
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108928953
Paperback
Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
For Land and Liberty is a comparative study of the history and contemporary circumstances concerning Brazil's quilombos (African-descent rural communities) and their inhabitants, the quilombolas. The book examines the disposition of quilombola claims to land as a site of contestation over citizenship and its meanings for Afro-descendants, as well as their connections to the broader fight against racism. Contrary to the narrative that quilombola identity is a recent invention, constructed for the purpose of qualifying for opportunities made possible by the 1988 law, Bowen argues that quilombola claims are historically and locally rooted. She examines the ways in which state actors have colluded with large landholders and modernization schemes to appropriate quilombo land, and further argues that, even when granted land titles, quilombolas face challenges issuing from systemic racism. By analyzing the quilombo movement and local initiatives, this book offers fresh perspectives on the resurgence of movements, mobilization, and resistance in Brazil.
Read more- Analyzes a cluster of communities in different regions of Brazil over time
- Employs mixed methodology, using qualitative and quantitative sources
- Places labor at the center of the land debate
Awards
- Winner, 2022 Sterling Stuckey Book Prize, Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora
Reviews & endorsements
'For Land and Liberty shows the foundational importance of land rights to black citizenship in Brazil. With an unflinching gaze, Bowen demonstrates the dispossession of rural black communities by powerful rural and state interests since the time of slavery, and compellingly argues that land rights are a necessary form of reparations for past injustices, and to achieve justice today. Deeply researched and timely, this work illuminates the unfinished struggle for liberation in Brazil and the African diaspora.' Yuko Miki, Fordham University
See more reviews'Quilombola - the formation of fugitive slave communities - is a storied part of the struggle of enslaved Africans in the Americas for self-emancipation, nowhere more so than in Brazil. For Land and Liberty is a deeply researched meditation on the afterlives of Quilombola in contemporary Brazil. With its rural, land, and labor focus, yoked to the theme of self-emancipation, then and now, the book does double duty as a paradigm-shifting work on the origins and evolution of pan-Africanism. A stellar accomplishment.' Michael West, Pennsylvania State University
'Scholars of Latin American studies, Africana studies, history, geography, anthropology, and agrarian studies will get an extensive overview of the regional complexities in applying a land reform program, including what was promised and what has failed to deliver.' Mary Lorena Kenny, Agricultural History
'a compelling argument for land reparations for Brazil's rural Black communities ... Recommended.' B. A. Lucero, Choice
'remarkable…' Cliff Welch, Hispanic American Historical Review
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: June 2023
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108928953
- length: 270 pages
- dimensions: 228 x 152 x 15 mm
- weight: 0.4kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. History, Heritage, and Resistance
2. Ethnic Cultural Politics Trumps Black Land Rights
3. Quilombola Recognition and Criminalization of Blackness
4. Land, Labor, and Livelihoods
5. Ethnic Tourism and the Commodification of Quilombola Culture
Conclusion.
related journals
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×