Política pública educacional quilombola em Itapecuru-Mirim/MA: uma análise a partir da perspectiva das lideranças quilombolas (2019-2024)

Abstract

The quilombola communities of Itapecuru-Mirim/MA experience historical conflicts related to racism, institutional invisibility, land disputes, and the denial of their ways of life. In the field of education, these communities have been demanding public policies that respect their ancestry, culture, and self-determination. This study focused on the central research question: to what extent does the quilombola educational public policy in Itapecuru-Mirim meet the demands of quilombola leaders? Its general objective was to analyze the quilombola educational public policy in the communities of Itapecuru-Mirim/MA based on the demands of these leaders. The specific objectives were: to discuss the historical trajectory, contexts, and achievements of the struggle of quilombola communities for specific school education in Brazil; to understand which demands guide the struggle for quilombola school education in the communities of Itapecuru-Mirim/MA; and to investigate the scenario of quilombola educational public policy in Itapecuru-Mirim in light of those demands. The study is justified by the urgency of listening to quilombola voices in the formulation of educational policies, recognizing them as political subjects who produce their own knowledge and resist the coloniality of power and knowledge. The theoretical-methodological framework articulates Marxist historical-dialectical materialism with the decolonial approach, to understand capitalism, coloniality, and racism as oppressive systems over quilombola ways of life, and to highlight the struggle for education as a political act of resistance. This is a qualitative research, complemented by quantitative data. The study used bibliographic research, documentary analysis, and fieldwork, the latter through semi-structured interviews with quilombola leaders, quilombola teachers, and a staff member from the Maranhão State Department of Education (SEDUC/MA). The findings show that the three main demands made by quilombola leaders in Itapecuru-Mirim are: the valorization of the transmission of elders' knowledge through oral tradition and the inclusion of community cultural practices in the school program and calendar; the teaching of Afro-Brazilian History and Culture; and the prioritization of quilombola teachers from the communities themselves. Despite legal advances achieved through the struggle of quilombola communities, educational policies have not sufficiently addressed these demands. As such, the quilombolas of Itapecuru-Mirim continue to fight for an education rooted in their ancestry, territory, and collective identity.