Luz di Angolinha – pedagogy in action

How is it possible to address the impacts of everyday racism and sexism on children?

Mestra Di heads a children’s capoeira group, Luz di Angolinha in Olinda, Pernambuco. Pernambuco is in the Northeast of Brazil, one of the areas most affected by inequality, discrimination and violence, which disproportionately impact women and people of Afro-Brazilian or Indigenous heritage.

Intergenerational poverty, racism and sexism have common roots in a society that has, since colonialism, been based on exploitation and socio-economic exclusion. Within this environment, children are exposed to racism and sexism, and sometimes internalise values that they experience in their communities, on television or the internet.

There are around 15-20 children in Luz di Angolinha. Mestra Di observes that the children can be violent, subdued or suffer from low self esteem as a result of the racist and sexist narratives they are exposed to. Through their participation in capoeira classes and a workshop for making capoeira instruments from recycled materials, Mestra Di guides the children through themes of identity, mutual respect and equality.