BLACK (IN)VISIBILITY IN THE 9TH GRADE PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE TEXTBOOK

Abstract

This article, entitled "Black (in)visibility in the 9th-grade Portuguese Language textbook," proposes an analysis of Black representation in this teaching material, seeking to analyze the effects of meaning produced by the discourses that permeate it. To this end, Discourse Analysis is adopted as a theoretical-methodological basis, with contributions from Foucault (2003), Pêcheux (1999), Orlandi (1988, 1996, 1998, 2002), and Lopes (2024), articulated with authors who discuss ethnic-racial relations, such as Almeida (2019), Gomes (2003), Freitas and Jesus (2021), Pinheiro (2023), and Stuart Hall (1997, 2002, 2016), among others. The study also draws on normative documents, such as Law No. 10.639/2003 and the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC, 2017), which establish the mandatory teaching of Afro-Brazilian history and culture. Furthermore, we sought to understand how the discourses present in the 9th-grade Portuguese Language Textbook – Teláris Essencial (PNLD 2024–2027) produce meanings about the Black population, observing whether there are ruptures or continuities in the modes of representation. Thus, the analysis reveals that, although mentions of the Black population occur sparsely, often decontextualized, and frequently devoid of historicity, reinforcing a Eurocentric narrative with little commitment to the valorization of the Black subject. Furthermore, the marks of silencing, erasure, and stereotyping remain prevalent, indicating a fragile and peripheral Black presence. It is concluded that challenging textbooks is essential to break with exclusionary logics and affirm the centrality of Black history and culture in the development of more conscious, critical individuals committed to racial justice.