By Comrade Silva
Many people ask me why we should demand reparations in the form of resources and the return of land. I will tell a brief story about the life of Maria do Carmo Gerônimo. She was the last legally enslaved person in Brazil, and she is believed to have lived longer than any other person in history.
Maria was born in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1871. She was enslaved for 17 years until abolition on May 13, 1888. However, even after the abolition of slavery in Brazil, she worked as a maid for the next 60 years to the same family that had slaved her.
Maria never received any kind of reparations for her enslavement and the descendants of the slave owners were never punished. They never had to pay or give land to the enslaved people like Maria and her descendants.
Maria died in poverty on June 15, 2000 and today, her descendants receive the same burden of being born into poverty. The neocolonial sellouts in the Brazilian government keep Black and Colonized working class people (people of color) in a system of extreme poverty even after 132 years since the abolition of slavery.
Maria lived for 129 years, which is longer than any other person in history. She deserves to be recognized for this, however, because she was born into slavery, the Guinness Book of World Records denies her this recognition.
Remember Maria and all the colonized and slaves who had their most basic rights denied since birth when someone questions whether reparations are still necessary. Even when liberal governments outlaw slavery, they still have systems that keep the very same people oppressed and exploited.
The poor and exploited colonized people need dictatorship – full control – over their labor, lives, land, and resources.
This is why Black Hammer Organization repeats the demand, “Land back!” We recognize that when poor and working class colonized people get organized, we can regain control over our land and start to build a future where nobody lives at the expense of another.
We are building chapters worldwide, and are recruiting for our chapter in Brazil. Help build revolutionary power to destroy colonialism and remnants of slavery, fight coronavirus, and build Hammer City, our direct answer to colonization.
To learn more about Hammer City, read the constitution which describes how the land will be returned to the Indigenous Land Liberators. Share your feedback with us!
LAND BACK!
