Students, teachers and parents of students at the Team College made an act on Wednesday to reverberate the allegations of a case of racism committed at Shopping Pátio Higienópolis, Located in the neighborhood of the same name, in São Paulo. Two students from the Elementary School Institution II report that they were approached last Wednesday (16), in a discriminatory manner by one of the employees in charge of making the security of the shopping center.
The demonstration brought together hundreds of people, who grouped at the intersection of Avenida Higienópolis, where is the mall, with Avenida Angelica. Most protesters were elementary school students, not only from the Team College, but from other institutions that sympathized and joined the mobilization.
In a statement that summoned the community to participate in the movement, the team pointed out that the protest was pulled by social movements that fight for the right to housing and was supported by the Team Institute, Equiprete and Grêmio Sankara.
Benedito Barbosa, a lawyer who follows the case, explained to Brazil agency who learned of the case for the leadership of one of the social movements.
Students during the protest at Pátio Higienópolis Shopping – Lettycia Bond/Agência Brasil
Mark
One of the victims of racism lives in a known occupation of the capital and is a scholarship of the College of Team and a member of the Proceeding Program, which bridges between the school and collectives that have the dignified housing flag for all. The lawyer classifies the act of segregation as “very cruel and unacceptable” and evaluates that today there is more indignation by society in general in the face of this type of situation and that Brazil already admits to being a racist country.
“In our manifesto, it is [a analogia de] which is like a whip in the body, in the soul of these teenagers. It will be this act of racism forever, “said Barbosa.” We want the mall to stop just apologizing. He wants him to actually do concrete actions, so that there is no more discrimination, “he protested.
Also present in the protest, Maria Nogueira, from the coordination of the Black Awareness Center of the University of São Paulo (USP), recalls that this is not the first time that the mall has become the center of attention because of a hygienist line, that is, who wants distance from everything that takes as undesirable. “I think the acts of the world, 2020, also passed here through Brazil and lighting in a sector that until then did not mobilize so much from racial solidarity a new worldview,” he said.
“And the symbolism of this, of all members of the school, of the Youth, because there are very young faces, 13, 14 years probably participating in their first manifestations, is very important,” he said, also punctuating that there is already a certain level of progress for consumer concern about the type of policies the enterprises and brands adopt in the face of social issues.
Mother of team students and member of the school’s anti -racist committee, Mariana Carlin comments that the group was formed after the realization that there was a need to promote racial literacy and that it gave rise to the equiprete, students. Finally, they conceived the equipront, for younger children, from child and elementary teachings I.
According to Mariana, the two students victims of racism were destroyed by the security agent shortly after leaving an activity in which they debated the subject.
Asked about the possibility of looking for a school with a profile focused on formative processes with diversity guidance, she says yes and found few institutions in this model. “It’s very rare and they are the most progressive. I lived a little further and even moved to get closer to school. We researched some schools and there was the proposal of commissions, anti -racist collegiate, but never seemed effective because there was no clear position. Even, in relation to quotas of employees,” he reports, leaving that many include only the distant body in the fighting actions, leaving from outside the employees.
Students during the protest at Pátio Higienópolis Shopping – Lettycia Bond/Agência Brasil
Neighborhood
Higienópolis is one of the noble neighborhoods of the state capital, with residents and residents of middle and upper classes. It was known in 2011 by the controversy that emerged with the refusal of part of the inhabitants to open a subway station in the region. At the time, a resident stated that the structure would attract “different people” to the neighborhood, an expression he used to refer to poor people and other minority and marginalized groups. The statement provoked a reaction of those who considered it prejudiced. With this, this portion organized the “barbecue of differentiated people” to counter the elitist and exclusionary posture.
In a statement, the administration of Shopping Pátio Higienópolis said they mourned what is in contact with the victimized adolescents’ family. “The behavior adopted does not reflect the values of the mall and the theme is being treated with maximum seriousness,” he says.
“The venture has a frequent training and literacy grid, which will be even more reinforced to reiterate our non -negotiable commitment to the construction of a truly safe and welcoming space for all people.”
According to the Secretariat of Public Security, the case was referred to the Police Station for Racial Crimes and Crimes of Intolerance (Decradi) to determine the facts.
