Reinventando o imaginário santista: memórias silenciadas

Abstract

This research proposes a critical and engaged perspective on the construction of memory in the history of the Port of Santos, with the central objective of identifying the gaps and omissions in the official historical narratives that resulted in the invisibilization of Black women and their crucial contributions to the santista (Santos-based) economy, particularly in professions such as gleaners (catadeiras) and washerwomen (lavadeiras). The central hypothesis posits that the official memory of the Port was constructed based on an ideological framework that deliberately silenced female participation, configuring a politics of oblivion (política de esquecimento) that served the structure of social domination. The work adopted an anti-colonial perspective, grounded in the analysis of the intersectional nature of gender, race, and class, and supported by central figures of Black and feminist Brazilian thought. The theoretical detailing is anchored in Heleieth Saffioti (1997)'s concept of triple domination (tripla dominação), Lélia Gonzalez (1984) and Sueli Carneiro (2018)'s dialogue on Americanness/Amefricanity (amefricanidade) and intersectionality, and Margareth Rago (2008)'s work on the discipline of bodies and the utopia of the “disciplinary city” (cidade disciplinar). The research also incorporated the voices of Abdias Nascimento (1978), Beatriz Nascimento (2018), and Clóvis Moura (1998) to ground the critique of the colonial logic of historical writing. Methodologically, the research combines critical bibliographic analysis with the retrieval of testimonies and the living memory of the Black Movement of Santos, mainly from santista Afrotourism. Furthermore, Ana Lucia Duarte Lanna (1996) was integrated into this project to provide a theoretical and empirical overview of the urban changes carried out at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which are linked to the end of the slavery regime and the rise of the capitalist system. The fundamental role of the women workers was evidenced, unveiling how the labor of reproduction and care materially sustained the prosperity of the Port and the city, contributing to the historical reparation necessary for the identity and memory of the city. The results obtained seek not only to rescue these memories but also to stimulate future research that deepens the relations of gender and race in port history