Public History of Slavery in Brazil

Project

Past Present - sites of memory

Places of memory of slavery in Brazil: database and itineraries

>Visit the website
Passados Presentes - Lugares de Memória

Project

Past Present - Tourism

Itineraries for visiting the quilombos of Bracui and São José, jongo do Pinheiral, and Pequena Africa

>Visit the website
Passados Presentes - Turismo

Project

Past Present Minas Gerais

Videos, teaching materials, books, and podcasts on black and Afro-indigenous heritage and memories in Minas Gerais

>Visit the website
Passados Presentes Minas Gerais

Project

Inventory of Sites of Memory - LABHOI

Inventory of Sites of Memory of the Atlantic Slave Trade and the History of Enslaved Africans in Brazil

>Visit the website
Inventário dos Lugares de Memória - LABHOI

Archive

LABHOI - Digital Multimedia Archive

Digital multimedia archive of the project and research network of the Oral History and Image Laboratory

>Visit the website
LABHOI - Arquivo Digital Multimídia

Project

UFF-Petrobras Cultural Collection

Interviews on the Memory of Slavery and Black Music in Rio de Janeiro: jongos, calangos, and folias

>Visit the website
Acervo UFF-Petrobras Cultural

Project

Memories of Captivity

Website report on the Memories of Captivity project developed at the Oral History and Image Laboratory (1994-2005)

>Visit the website
Memórias do Cativeiro

Project

Afrorigens

Archaeology project on the African diaspora in Brazil: slave ships in focus. The Bracui/Camargo case

>Visit the website
Afrorigens

Project

Detectives of the Past

School investigation and research activities on slavery in Brazil (with Anita Almeida)

>Visit the website
Detetives do Passado

Project

Emancipations and Post-Abolition

Emancipations and Post-Abolition course; 8 historians tell another history of Brazil (1808-2020)

>Visit the website
Emancipações e Pós-Abolição

Project

Decolonial Brazil

17 artistic and cultural interventions on slavery at the National Historical Museum (with NUMEM)

>Visit the website
Brasil Decolonial

Project

Identities of Rio

Social and cultural memory of the state of Rio de Janeiro in nine stories

>Visit the website
Identidades do Rio

Blog

Conversations with Historians

Blog with reflections by historians on history, black memory, and contemporary political contexts (2013-2025)

>Visit the website
Conversas de historiadoras

Project

Memory of Slavery

website/report of the FAPERJ/Columbia Global Center project on the memory of slavery and reparations policies in Brazil (2014-2015)

>Visit the website
Memória da escravidão

Project

School Stories

Interviews about the Ferreira Viana school (with Anita Almeida)

>Visit the website
Historias de Escola

Project

Post-Abolition Characters

Works and materials about eight Black characters

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Personagens do Pós Abolição

Project

Global Curatorial

Network of scholars, curators and community educators about public history, slavery and colonialism

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Curatorial Global

Exhibit

In Slavery’s Wake

Exhibit In Slavery’s Wake in Rio de Janeiro - Museu Histórico Nacional - November 2025 to March 2026

>Visit the website
Para Além da Escravidão




Team

Equipe
Keila, Monica, Hebe and Martha


Keila Grinberg is a Professor of Latin American History and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Professor in the Department of History at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). She works in the Graduate Program in History at both universities and in the Graduate Program in History Teaching – ProfHIstoria at UNIRIO.
>> Lattes

Monica Lima is a historian, coordinator of the Laboratory of African Studies – LEÁFRICA, and Associate Professor of African History at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She works in the Graduate Program in Social History (PPGHIS) and the Graduate Program in History Teaching (ProfHistória) at UFRJ. She has been Director-General of the National Archives since February 2025.
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Hebe Mattos is a Professor at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) and Professor of Brazilian History at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). She works in the Graduate Program in History at both universities and coordinates the LABHOI/UFF/UFJF research network. She is a researcher at CNPq.
>> Lattes

Martha Abreu is a Professor at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, working in the Graduate Program in History and the Graduate Program in History Teaching-ProfHistória at UFF. She is a researcher at CNPq and UERJ/FFP.
>> Lattes





The Network
Past
Present

Passados Presentes: Memory of Slavery in Brazil is a research network on the public history of slavery. To recognize the leading role of the black population in history, in partnership with quilombola communities and holders of cultural heritage, such as jongos and congados, we develop activities in research, teaching, dissemination, musealization, and the creation of tourist itineraries and content for exhibitions.

Beginning with the emergence of the documentation and research project Memórias do Cativeiro (Memories of Captivity) at LABHOI/UFF in 1994, network activities have intensified since 2005 on various blogs, networks, and institutional outlets, resulting in the documentary collection Passados Presentes do Labhoi/Uff (2011), the Inventory of Places of Memory of the Atlantic Slave Trade and the History of Enslaved Africans in Brazil (2012), the organization of a digital database, and the creation of itineraries for visits to quilombola and jongueira communities.

The research network Passados Presentes: Memória da Escravidão no Brasil (Past Present: Memory of Slavery in Brazil) is currently directed by CLAS/PITT, LABHOI/UFF, LABHOI/UFJF, and Le Africa/UFRJ.

[







Films

Memories of Captivity

Documentary featuring interviews with descendants of the last generation of enslaved Africans in southeastern Brazil, interviewed between 1988 and 2005

Jongos Calangos and Folias

Documentary about black memory and music in Rio de Janeiro, filmed throughout 2006 and 2007

Past and Present

Documentaries on the memory of the illegal trafficking of slaves in black communities in Rio de Janeiro

Verses and Clubs

Documentary about the roots of contemporary capoeira in the tradition of “jogo do pau” in Afro-Fluminense culture

Creating Passados Presentes

Documentary about the Passados Presentes project itineraries and the project launch ceremonies in partner communities

Brasil Decolonial

Video about the Brasil Decolonial exhibition, held at the National Historical Museum in partnership with NUMEM





Texts





Repercussions