As Águas-Vivas Não Sabem de Si by Aline Valek

And it wasn’t only speculative fiction and pop culture spaces that we were directing our attention to. Needless to say, we have been frustrated, tired, hurt, angry, and we needed to do something. Jim and I have suffered episodes of microaggressions, harassment, and prejudice inside and outside the fandom-he as a black man and me as a queer person (I’ve been out as queer for a decade but only in 2014, at twenty-three years old, I came out as non-binary). The people involved in questioning and analyzing the use of his books in government programs were simply giving it the proper critical analysis and historical context so teachers would discuss the racism in those stories with their students and parents could make their own informed decisions about buying it for their kids. The same empty excuses about Lobato being a man of his time were brought up along with cries about censorship-though nobody was censoring anything. Lobato’s case deflagrated reactions and conversations similar to those that happened around H. His stories, despite being one of the most famous and well-read series in the country, are undoubtedly harmful to black children. And a re-awakened discussion about the works of Monteiro Lobato, an influential twentieth century writer of children’s books that are charged with racism. Horrible things like racism, queerphobia, misogyny, and mansplaining in fandom spaces.

Good things like We Need Diverse Books and #ReadWomen2014 (that inspired the monthly book club Leia Mulheres). The event was a continuation of what Jim Anotsu and I started in January of 2015 with the publishing of Manifesto Irradiativo, a call for diversity and representation in Brazilian speculative fiction.

It felt like the energy powering us was raw emotion. You could hear the anger and frustration in the voices of panelists mixed with excitement and hope. There was a sense of urgency in the room. During the Encontro Irradiativo, an event to celebrate and discuss representation and diversity in speculative fiction and pop culture, there were a lot of people needing to express themselves and share their experiences of being writers and readers who are often misrepresented as offensive stereotypes, treated as second-class citizens, and forgotten by a whitewashed history. To be given a platform to speak your mind when you’re used to being made invisible is a powerful act. Art is our Weapon is an essay by Brazilian writer and activist Alliah/Vic that originally appeared in the third volume of our Quarterly Almanac.

As Águas-Vivas Não Sabem de Si by Aline Valek