The Black Brazilian buying power is currently $1.7 trillion reals or $435 billion U.S. dollars. This is more than double what it was in 2012, according to study. But how that money is being spent of late is changing dramatically. Propelled by the success of Black Panther (Pantera Negra in Portuguese), and its messages of unity, power and blackness, there is a growing movement among Black Brazilians to keep their money in their own community.
According to Black Women of Brazil blog:
In recent years we’ve seen numerous examples of black Brazilians reacting to openly racist behavior, practices and actions, as well as a lack of black representation they’ve taken note of in stores, restaurants, universities and the media. These events have led to protests, calls for boycotts and campaigns organized online.
The assassination of Marielle Franco, who was elected to the Rio de Janeiro city council in 2016, is seen as a catalyst as well for the awakening. Franco, who was 38, was black, a single mother and gay. She ran on a platform to fight for justice for the voiceless and powerless. She was gunned down last year, just 18 months after her election. She was a signal of change that was coming.
“Being a black woman is to resist and survive all the time,” Franco once said.
Her murder ushered in a wave of activism that is leading to black people in Brazil being more conscious with how they spend their monies.
“The Feira Preta, Festival de Arte Negra and Back 2 Black and others, companies must recognize that there is a new identification with blackness that didn’t exist just a few decades ago,” according to Black Women of Brazil blog. “Another practice that has emerged and gained popularity among black Brazilians in recent years in the so-called ‘Se não me vejo, não compro,” or ‘if I don’t see myself, I don’t buy’ movement.”
