The children’s book Amoras, written by the singer Emicida, was the target of religious intolerance in a private school in Salvador. According to information released by the g1 Bahia website, the crime was committed by the mother of an elementary school student who vandalized the work by applying indications of biblical psalms, and claiming that some information about orixás was “false”.
The case is classified as religious racism by the criminal lawyer and Sectional Counselor of the Order of Lawyers of Brazil (OAB) of Bahia, Dandara Amazzi Lucas Pinho.
The artist’s book was found with the statements on Monday (6). The direction of the Clubinho das Letras school, the book was indicated as a suggestion of didactic works for the Ciranda Literária project. In it, those responsible for the children are invited to buy the works suggested by the teaching unit, which are then taken to the school and made available to the students.
The first edition of the project began on Friday (3) and, after the weekend, the teaching unit was alerted by a person in charge about the prejudiced messages.
‘Amoras’ is suitable for children aged five and tells the story of a black girl who is learning to recognize herself in the world. In conversations with her father, she has access to knowledge related to different cultures and religions, in addition to being introduced to great icons of the struggles of black people, such as Zumbi, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
- Check out some messages left in the book
At least eight pages of the work were vandalized. On the first page of the book, the author talks about Obatalá and characterizes him as the “orixá who created the world”. The woman characterized the information as false and quoted the biblical book Genesis.
The book also features didactic illustrations to characterize the orixás. Texts such as “this image represents an idol” and that the orixás are “fallen angels” were written on them.
The work even has a glossary to help children understand some words that are mentioned throughout the text, such as Obatalá, orishas, Africa and Allah. To explain what the continent of Africa is, the author highlighted that “It is the place where the human race began, and because of this, it is known as the cradle of humanity”. Next to the noun, the woman drew an “x” and wrote: “This information is false”.
The acts of degradation of the work were also directed at the author of the book, Emicida. As the rapper has said in several interviews, his stage name is an acronym: the junction of the words homicidal with MC. The name was created after he, whose name is Leandro, started to win several rap battles – that is, “kill” opponents with his powerful rhymes.
The story behind the acronym was highlighted by the woman, who urged others responsible “See also the author’s biography”since the name used by him is related to the word “homicidal”.
Teaching unit intends to restore the work
Sought after by g1 Bahia, the school’s management said it was against the statements written in the book and assured that the work will be replaced, so that students continue to have access to the book’s content. Another measure that must be taken is to summon the family to a meeting.
The g1 also got in touch with the criminalist lawyer and Sectional Counselor of the Order of Lawyers of Brazil (OAB) of Bahia, Dandara Amazzi Lucas Pinho, who informed that the case can be considered religious racism.
She reinforced that all Brazilian schools, public or private, are obliged by the Ministry of Education (MEC) to implement the teaching of Afro-Brazilian and indigenous history in schools.
“The book that should guide a beneficial behavior in society ends up being misunderstood and being a weapon to violate people who have a different religious following from those who wrote the ‘footnotes’. We managed to perceive very clearly how religious racism is penetrated in each subscribed line”, he said.
The g1 also contacted the woman who wrote in the book and who does not want to be identified. She said that she does not consider the case as religious intolerance, as she wrote in the book that she bought herself and did not refuse to take it to school.
She also said that she had bought the work suggested by the school because she thought it would only address racial issues. However, she identified that the work also talked about religions, a subject that, according to her, the school had informed that it would not be addressed this year.
As Christianity was not addressed in the book, she decided to write the biblical passages by hand, so that, in this way, the students’ parents could read, if they wanted, different versions for their children. After the case reverberated in the school unit, the woman said that she was harassed by a group of parents of students and called a “vandal” and “intolerant”.
The g1 team got in touch with rapper Emicida’s advice and awaits the positioning of the artist and writer.