MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil: National Zumbi and Black Awareness holiday signed into law

The date is only a holiday in six states

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Thursday signed into law a bill creating the National Day of Zumbi and Black Awareness holiday to be celebrated on Nov. 20, the anniversary of the death of the leader of Quilombo dos Palmares, Agencia Brasil reported.

The wording had been approved by the National Congress at the end of last month.

November 20 marks the death of the leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares, one of the largest in Brazil during the colonial period of resistance against black enslavement.

Currently, the date is only a holiday in six states: Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Alagoas, Amazonas, Amapá, and São Paulo - and in more than 1,200 cities through municipal and state laws.

Starting in 2024, it will be observed nationwide.

Since 2003, schools have been obliged to include the teaching of Afro-Brazilian history and culture in the curriculum. In 2011, then-president Dilma Rousseff made Nov. 20 the official National Day of Zumbi and Black Awareness.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)