Black Youth Political Network

The “Discussion groups on black youth: identity, development and genocide” project is aimed at youth from 15-29 years old and looks to promote the appreciation of the black Brazilian youth’s right to life, confronting the systematic genocide to which they are exposed in the country.

– Reprinting, launch and dissemination of “Black Youth in Brazil – trajectories and struggles.”

– Holding meetings in different youth spheres – schools; social, cultural, sports, health or religious institutions – where they will discuss the black youth’s situation in the cities in which the authors of the publication reside.

According to the “Map of violence 2011: the youth of Brazil,” created by the Sangary Institute and submitted to the Justice Ministry, around 521,000  people were murdered in Brazil between 1998 and 2008, with the majority being young men.  Data from 2008 show that homicide is responsible for 39% of deaths among young people from 15 to 24 years of age, while for those under 15 and over 24, the rate falls to only 1.8% of deaths.  In this context, black youth is the most affected: at the same time as the number of homicides involving white youth fell 30% from 2002 to 2008, among blacks it rose 13%.

In 2002, the probability of a young black person dying was 45% higher than the equivalent white, and in 2008, this rate reached an alarming 127%.  The massacre of Afro-descendant youth reveals various forms of racism and human rights violations, such as social exclusion and lack of opportunities and future prospects.

Created in 2005 in São Paulo, the Black Youth Political Network (APJN in Portuguese) promotes the human rights of black youth through support for alternative prep courses, to aide in the access, permanence and success of black students at public universities; support for the decriminalization of abortion;  recognition of the sexual diversity of transvestites, transsexuals and transgenders; activities against all forms of gender discrimination; battling violence, mistreatment, harassment and exploitation of women and girls; combating police repression and the genocide of black youth; strengthening black culture and youth entrepreneurship, to facilitate the growth of black businessmen and businesswomen.

The institution is part of the National Black Youth Forum, the Circle of Afro-descendant Youth of the Americas and the Ibero-american Network of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Youth.

The discussion groups were held in youth spheres based around the theme of identity, development and genocide of black youth and the experiences were written down in detail for the book “Black Youth in Brazil – trajectories and struggles”. The book was published with the project’s support.