Destruction of symbols: historians believe in resignification of slave monuments

Ívina Garcia – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “There has never been a monument of culture that was not also a monument of barbarism. And just as culture is not free from barbarism, neither is the process of transmitting culture”. (Walter Benjamin, 1940).

Walter Benjamin’s quote, paraphrased by historian and Master in Social History Juarez Clementino da Silva Júnior, brings an evaluation about historical monuments that carry racist, slavery and oppression symbols spread all over the world.

Started in 2020, after George Floyd was brutally murdered by white police officers, the destruction and toppling of images has spread around the world, reaching Brazil, as a sign of restructuring history.

Monuments to Edward Colston, one of the greatest slave traders of the 17th century; Leopold II, the 19th century king whose regime contributed to the death of millions of people in Africa; the destruction of the monument to Borba Gato, in São Paulo; and the removal of the statue of Catherine, Empress of Russia, in Ukraine, are some of the symbols affected by the movement.

The destruction of the figures does not change what has been done in the past, but according to experts heard by CENARIUM MAGAZINE, historical reform is necessary so that official history can be rewritten through the eyes of those who need to be represented.

Juarez Clementino understands that each monument is created from distinct optics and perspectives linked to contexts that do not necessarily validate or popularise themselves over time. For him, “a monument of the personal homage type should only be in public if there is still public spirit that justifies its permanence”.

Even if a portion of the population seems apathetic about the permanence or not of these symbols, the historian points out that there are groups that manifest themselves contrary and that they, therefore, should be heard.

“I understand that once the convenience or not of maintaining such monuments is questioned and publicly debated, the public authorities should take the necessary measures based not only on public opinion, but also on an analysis and technical judgment (which includes legal provisions)”, he says.

Brazil celebrated 200 years of independence in 2021, the democratic achievement is even younger, with just over 30 years since the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, both of which do not even surpass the slavery period in Colonial Brazil, which lasted over 300 years.

The reflection of this is marked in the country’s monuments and artistic culture. Explorers, slave traders and the monarchy itself, responsible for the death of countless Brazilians and South Americans, have their place in art museums, paintings, sculptures, place names and squares.

In addition to Borba Gato, the imperialist Duque de Caxias, responsible for murdering Indians and blacks; the slave trader, Joaquim Pereira Marinho; the explorers and bandeirantes, the Anhanguera; the slave trader Fernão Dias, among others, still survive in monuments.

For the master and professor in History Kivia Mirrana Pereira, the European domination in history is the main responsible for the existence of so many symbols of oppressors, read as heroes. “Our memory, especially the Brazilian memory, is formed on this process of domination, of colonization, and even in this post-independence process, we still have symbols and an official history very much rooted in revering Europe”, she says.

“If we have on one side a history very much rooted in colonisation, in oppression, in the domination of the body, in the domination of mentality, in the domination of work, in the domination of culture, we have on the other side, a side which is always portrayed as the winner”, points out the specialist.

The new reading and the advancement of the updating of collective memory is part of the construction of a more conscious society, according to the historian. Kívia states that it is significant to question and give another place to this narrative.

“This needs to be understood not as a process of vandalism, but to show society that history has been told in an erroneous and mistaken way, and by questioning it, it is possible to create a history based on re-signification, and this will not be done in a harmonious way”, she says.

The historian also argues that there is no need for a war against monuments, but that questioning is guaranteed to generate conflict, especially when one questions a history of colonisation and oppression that is over 500 years old.

“It is important that we carry out this process of reconstruction of national memory, putting our Brazilian people in evidence and not just political figures who took advantage of this colonisation process to highlight a civilisation project that brought enormous consequences for civilisation”, she says.