Black women’s right to self-esteem
For more than thirty years, July 25 has carried an important meaning: it is the International Day of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women. The date was created in 1992, when Black women from different countries gathered in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, for the 1st Meeting of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women.
The mobilization gave rise to the Network of Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean and Diaspora Women, created as a space for political coordination, reflection, exchange and for denouncing the inequalities produced by racism and sexism. It was in this same context that the Network established July 25 as a date to recognize the existence, struggles and contributions of Black women across the continent. In 2024, the UN made the date official as the International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent.
Did you know?
Since 2013, this month has been called Julho das Pretas (Black Women’s July) in Brazil. The movement was created by Instituto Odara in Bahia and grows larger every year. To learn more, read our blog post by clicking here.
A right to self-esteem historically denied
The barriers Black women face in Brazil in having their rights guaranteed are not new. Since the first centuries of colonization, Europeans deprived people from many African peoples of recognizing themselves as human beings, enslaving them and thereby undermining their self-esteem. “Esteem” was never for oneself, but always directed toward white masters.
From the time of the slave ships, society sought in different ways to undermine Black people’s self-esteem; after all, their self-worth would pose a threat to a system based on their domination. African faith, culture, beauty, customs and languages were condemned in order to exalt what came from Europe. Self-esteem was turned into a white feeling.
Even after abolition, Brazil’s social structure continued to greatly hinder the self-confidence of these populations. If someone does not even have the right to housing, healthy food and decent work, how will they find favorable conditions to reflect on themselves and see their own strengths?
And now, centuries later, it is still the State’s obligation to restore all the rights that were taken from these people. Among them, the right to self-esteem.
Here at Instituto C, we understand that strengthening self-esteem is an essential step toward the autonomy of each family we serve. We also understand that this process can be even more challenging for Black people, given historical injustices whose effects remain present in a society still marked by racism.
These consequences are still often ignored, while the violations produced by enslavement and centuries of exclusion have not yet been fully redressed. That is why this reflection is especially relevant to our work, since Black women make up the majority of the people we support.
What is self-esteem?
According to the Michaelis dictionary, self-esteem is “the feeling of personal satisfaction and contentment experienced by an individual who knows their true qualities, abilities and potential (…)”. In other words, it is the quality of someone who values themselves and is satisfied with who they are.
According to Noaly Avenoso, a psychologist on Instituto C’s technical team, self-esteem encompasses everything, from social relationships to the way a person feels about themselves. “It doesn’t only involve the insecurities and social pressures everyone has, especially us women. It goes beyond that: it involves care and self-care.”
Self-esteem goes far beyond self-image. It’s not about thinking you’re pretty or ugly. Working mostly with women, I see this difficulty a lot, for example, in recognizing what they’re capable of doing. Especially among Black women, who learned from an early age to just get on with life,” explains Suellen Claudino, a psychologist on IC’s technical team.
There are, therefore, countless ways for someone to strengthen their self-esteem. It can be by seeing the beauty in one’s own body, but also by recognizing one’s own humanity. “The right to be tired is a way of strengthening self-esteem,” says Noaly. This is because when a Black mother from the periphery says she can’t handle everything, she goes against the superhuman image society builds of this “warrior, unbeatable” woman.
Twenty or thirty years ago, if you had kinky hair, you had ‘bad hair.’ Your obligation was to straighten it. You were only beautiful if you were white. So it’s not that a Black mother didn’t teach her Black daughter to think she was beautiful. It’s that this Black mother didn’t have that resource. She learned from her ancestors: ‘If your hair is kinky, iron it,’” says Suellen.
Self-esteem at work
Another environment in which self-esteem can be developed is work, by recognizing the impact and quality of the service provided. That is what happened to Cristiana, 52, who is supported at IC’s North Zone Hub in São Paulo. Cris works as a day cleaner and housekeeper and says that, for a long time, she did not give due value to what she did. Today, she also realizes how many times she suffered racism in the homes where she worked.
In one of them, she spent six years being mistreated every week and hearing racist insults — she was even unfairly accused of stealing a pair of earrings. “Every Thursday I’d get a stomachache, hives, everything. Until one day I said: ‘No, that’s enough,’” she says.
Today, Cris has a greater awareness of the well-being that day cleaners and housekeepers bring to people’s lives. She realized that she is a service provider and that the families she works for are her clients. So she organized her schedule, made a price list and no longer accepts having her work undervalued.
My rate for a regular day of cleaning is one price, and for a deep clean [heavier work] it’s another. And I don’t lower my price: if the person can’t pay what I’m asking, they’ll find another professional. I used to negotiate my work, but I learned this recently: to value myself,” she says proudly.
Three stories about self-esteem
At our hubs, many families arrive with new stories and challenges of their own. Almost always, our technical team’s work involves supporting the women who represent their families in strengthening their self-esteem in different ways and providing a space for exchange among them, so they can share and identify with one another’s experiences. Here we have gathered a collection of stories in which we were able to closely follow Black women building their self-confidence.
Everything is a social construction, and the collective is an answer for strengthening self-esteem. So in our groups, they grow much stronger, because they share stories, with professional guidance, and leave here as friends,” says Noaly.
1) Life after a heart attack
Between March and April of this year, *Eduarda (49) had a heart attack and stayed in the hospital for three or four days. During that time, she realized the extent of the role she played at home. Her family managed to handle basic tasks, but had difficulty maintaining organization and the daily routine. Eduarda was then able to recognize that she was one of the pillars of the family and that her presence mattered more than she herself had realized.
2) A pastime for whom?
During one of her sessions at IC, *Amélia, 46, said that her mother liked to bake bread and considered it a kind of therapy. Because of this, the family made sure to buy the ingredients so her mother could keep doing something that gave her pleasure. However, when the IC professional asked what that woman’s own “therapy” was, that is, her favorite pastime, she froze and simply said: “Wow, I don’t know!”
Mothers forget about themselves and completely lose their identity. They think they’re just someone’s mother and stop introducing themselves by their own name. In our circles, we always ask them to introduce themselves and say their own name. Many answer: ‘I’m so-and-so, so-and-so’s mother.’ And we never ask them to say that,” points out Noaly.
3) What beautiful earrings!
*Laura, 47, had never worn earrings. As a child, her mother did not let her pierce her ears because of family customs. One day, she received a pair of small earrings as a keepsake from an activity held in her faith community. She decided to wear them and received compliments from friends, which made her very happy! From then on, she began wearing bigger and more striking earrings.
*Fictitious names
