ETHNIC-RACIAL RELATIONS IN GEOGRAPHY TEACHING: AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE AFRO-GEOGRAPHIC ALMANAC

Abstract

To talk about ethnic-racial relations with children, we need to create mechanisms that are engaging and value cultures that, traditionally, have not been seen positively by Eurocentric education. The creation of an Afro-Geographic Almanac was the mechanism we found to raise children's curiosity about African culture and the appreciation of black people in our country. This text presents the experience of testing the Afro-Geographic Almanac with a group of fifth-year children from a public school in Brasília, Federal District. Our objective was to observe the perception that children had about Africa, Africans and, consequently, people of African descent who make up the majority of the Brazilian population. Using a phenomenological methodology, we used elements of Geography (maps, images, concepts of place, time and formation of cultural identity, among others) and carried out the intervention using the Almanac. We realized how much the prejudiced speeches were associated with the lack of knowledge and appreciation of everything that was presented in the proposed activities. The results obtained were very positive, as they ranged from self-awareness and appreciation of their origins to a critical view of the situation of black people in Brazil.