Frantz Fanon's 'Black Skin, White Masks' Reissued in Portuguese with New Critical Essays

A new Portuguese edition of Frantz Fanon's seminal 1952 work 'Black Skin, White Masks' has been published by Ubu Editora. The edition features a preface by Grada Kilomba, supplementary texts by Francis Jeanson and Paul Gilroy, an afterword by Deivison Faustino, and a text by Homi K. Bhabha. The author reflects on first reading the book in 2014 and using it to prepare for moderating the debate 'Art and Society: The Representation of Black People' in May 2015 at Itaú Cultural in São Paulo. That debate was a response to public protests accusing the play 'A Mulher do Trem' by Os Fofos Encenam of racism. The text explores the enduring power of Fanon's analysis of language, colonialism, and racial identity, connecting it to the ongoing realities of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous genocide in Brazil. It cites the lasting impact of 400 years of slavery, Brazil's receipt of nearly 40% of the global slave trade, and the persistence of racist structures in language and society. References are made to thinkers like Homi K. Bhabha, Aimé Césaire, and Lima Barreto, and to the Brazilian rap group Racionais MC's.