The role of black leaders in children's books after the enactment of the Law 10.639/03:

resignifying simplistic visions?

Abstract

This work proposes to analyze the work Madiba, the African boy (2011), a biographical narrative that brings as main character Nelson Mandela, through the observation of the graphic, editorial and enunciative aspects of the specimen. Based on this, we aim to discuss how children's books published after the enactment of Law 10.639/2003, weave their representations and, also, how these representations are linked to the authorities, such as the school and the government. Our conclusions start from the reflection that although the black character appears as a protagonist in these books, his representation tends to be based on colonialist perceptions; moreover, these perceptions are inclined to select certain aspects of their trajectory that can build a social imaginary that sees the black subject as peaceful in the face of situations of racism/prejudice. Thus, although the biographical reports about black characters are of great social relevance - since they resignify the collective imagination as to the appearance and origin of the hero - these reports are still linked to a simplistic representation of both South Africa and the leader political, and should be rethought as representative elements of racial ethnic groups in literary books.