As contribuições da memória para o letramento racial crítico

Abstract

This work is the result of an applied research project. An antiracist project was developed in the classroom with an 8th-grade class of Elementary School II at Escola Estadual Melquíades Batista de Miranda, located in the district of São José dos Salgados, belonging to the municipality of Carmo do Cajuru, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The research aimed to promote awareness of the linguistic diversity of Brazilian Portuguese and to develop students' critical racial literacy through the recovery of local memories. The investigation was based on the studies of Aparecida de Jesus Ferreira (2022), Catherine Walsh (2009, 2013), Eclea Bosi (2003), and Rogério Haesbaert (2007), approaching language as a social practice crossed by relations of power, identity, and race. Considering the local context, marked by the influence of Black and Indigenous populations, the proposal sought to value the community’s histories, cultural practices, and linguistic varieties. The adopted methodology was action research, with data collection carried out through interviews, analysis of oral narratives, historical records, and collaborative pedagogical activities. Data analysis showed that contact with local narratives expanded students' critical awareness regarding the relationship between language, identity, territory, and power, contributing to the deconstruction of linguistic stereotypes and strengthening their sense of belonging. The research reaffirms the importance of valuing local memories as a strategy to strengthen critical racial literacy and to promote an inclusive, democratic, and socially committed education.