#brasileiros

 Maysa

“Maysa is a project about race and gender in Brazil. I met Maysa during the final contest for “Young Miss Brazil”, in April 2014, she was there registering. On this day I discovered that this contest has two categories, one for black people and another for white people. Young Miss Brazil and Young Miss Brazil Black Beauty; created to encourage black girls to participate. Racism is, unfortunately, very common, although approximately 50% of Brazilians are African descendants. The vast majority live in a perpetually marginalized states. Months later, Maysa contacted me for a photo-shoot for her personal portfolio, she wanted to give a try to the 2015 contest. What was supposed to be a simple gift, became a work in progress. We started to get in touch, and month after month we developed a strong friendship. One that is helping me to be aware of the tough reality of my own country; racism, sexism, social exclusion, and a struggle to survive. In 2015 Maysa won the title Young Miss Brazil Black Beauty.

I’m seeing Maysa and her family, fighting to get to a comfortable place, and social recognition. And what is more exciting, I’m seeing the coming of age of a wonderful human being that represents a lot of values that my country is slowly losing.” - Luisa Dorr

Brazilian women of Polish ancestry hold an icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa; the patron saint of Poland, in the town of São José dos Pinhais where most locals are of descendants of Eastern European immigrants. 

The icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa is also venerated in Haiti, and has been since the Haitian revolution as a result of cultural exchange between Haitian revolutionists and Polish soldiers, who aided the black Haitians in their uprising against the white colonists and slave-owners of Haiti. During this era Poland had been invaded and colonized by three of their neighbors, and in order to gain their freedom the Poles sought out the help of Napoleon. Napoleon had promised to help them, but in return he demanded for legions of Polish men who would travel to Sainte Dominigue (Haiti) and help suppress the rebellion that was actively taking place. When the Polish soldiers arrived in Haiti and saw the way that the enslaved Africans were being treated by the white colonists, many became disgusted and deserted their duties joining bands of black rebels in their fight. The main reason for this was due to the fact that fewer than a hundred years ago most Poles, like other people in Eastern Europe, lived in serfdom in conditions akin to slavery; in addition they too were desperate for their freedom back home and due to these factors they felt it was their duty to align with the black Haitians fighting for their own freedom. After the end of the revolution the leaders of the new black republic of Haiti granted citizenship to the Poles who decided to stay in the nation, as the Poles mixed into the Haitian population they also mixed in some of their cultural aspects including the veneration of Our Lady of Częstochowa.