Aline Cardoso Fights to End Silencing of Black Brazilian Voices
PRAIA, Cape Verde — Brazilian writer and publisher Aline Cardoso is on a mission to dismantle the “deliberate silencing” of marginalized voices in her home country. Speaking at the XIV Meeting of Portuguese Language Writers in Cape Verde, the 35-year-old author detailed her efforts to champion “other Brazils” by publishing Black, Afro-Indigenous, and Northeastern women who have long been excluded from the literary canon.
Cardoso, the author of six books and founder of the Lua Negra (Black Moon) project under Editora Triluna, argues that the Brazilian publishing industry has historically functioned as a neo-colonial tool. Citing research by scholar Regina Dalcastagnè, Cardoso noted that the vast majority of published works in Brazil are authored by white men from the Southeast.
Breaking the Stereotype
“When Black people appeared in these narratives, it was through stereotypical lenses, occupying subaltern and marginalized positions,” Cardoso told Lusa. “It was a narrative by the ‘other’ about who we are, which is quite dangerous.”
Through her Lua Negra project, Cardoso has used crowdfunding and social media to bypass traditional gatekeepers, publishing 24 works by Black authors across Brazil. She rejects the industry’s tendency to treat “Black literature” as a monolithic genre.
“A literary genre is a poem, a chronicle, a novel, or a short story. Black people can write in all of them,” she said. “We are reclaiming the right to literature that was denied to us for so long. They want to keep us in places of subservience, with heads bowed; we dare to look them face-to-face.”
Literature as a Shield Against Extremism
Cardoso also addressed the political climate in Brazil, expressing concern over the potential rise of far-right leadership. She framed the arts and literature not just as cultural pursuits, but as essential tools for social safety and democratic survival.
“Literature provides other horizons and possibilities of life,” she stated. “When extreme governments take power, we lose rights democratically as a nation. Dictatorship doesn’t announce when it will start or end.”
Invoking the words of peasant leader Margarida Maria Alves, Cardoso added: “We have fear, but we don’t use it.”
A Lifelong Struggle
As a feminist, Cardoso also addressed the internal friction within women’s movements, noting that some women have aligned themselves with “neo-fascist” agendas that target immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Black communities. She remains steadfast, however, in her commitment to themes of resistance, dreams, and “mothering” in her own prose and poetry.
“There is a difference between a scrap and a struggle,” Cardoso said. “A scrap has a time to end; a struggle is for a lifetime. I dream of a country that respects biodiversity, art, and research—where children are readers and the silenced finally have their time.”
Cardoso’s participation in the XIV Meeting of Portuguese Language Writers is part of a three-day event in Praia, organized by the Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capital Cities (UCCLA) and the Praia City Council, aimed at exploring the lyrical identity and unity of the Portuguese language.
Image: Pexels – damien Saillet
