This footage was filmed and produced 20 November 2021.

Originally, Black Consciousness Day was celebrated on May 13 — the day when slavery was officially abolished in Brazil. It was moved to November 20 in honor of a Black hero, which amplified the day’s historical significance.

Zumbi dos Palmares was a Brazilian of Kongo origin and a leader of one of the ‘quilombos’ — a figurative settlement consisting of enslaved Africans having escaped their brutal masters. Zumbi was a freedom fighter and a legendary Black hero. He was given to Portuguese slavery at the vulnerable age of six and escaped nine years later, returning to Palmares (where he was born) and immediately launched an anti-slavery campaign against Portuguese oppression.