“A Journey through the African Diaspora,” a project that brought together public school students of African descent in the United States and Brazil to examine questions of race and identity, has been recognized by the Municipality of Sao Paulo for promoting a culture of human rights in municipal schools, receiving a second place award from Mayor Fernando Haddad.
The project, supported through a “Museums Connect” grant from the United States Department of State and the United States Consulate in Sao Paulo, created a long-term partnership between the Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center and Suitland High School in Maryland and the Afro Brasil Museum and the Vereador Antonio Sampaio Jaçanã Municipal School in Sao Paulo. Students in both countries studied the history and art that unites the two Afro descendent populations for a year, and the project culminated with an exchange that brought the Brazilian students to the U.S. and the U.S. students to Brazil. In each country, the Brazilian and American students collaborated to create a mural on the shared history of the slave trade.
The Museums Connect program seeks to empower youth to promote social inclusion and build partnerships among museums throughout the world. For more information please visit Museums Connect web site.
