Amefricanity as a Form of Overcoming Coloniality and Affirming Afro-descendant Identities

Abstract

This article addresses the concept of Amefricanity as a form of resistance to coloniality and as a tool for affirming Afro-descendant identities across the Americas, with particular focus on the Brazilian context. The objective is to analyze how Amefricanity, as proposed by Lélia Gonzalez, functions as a political-cultural category capable of destabilizing Eurocentric structures of power, knowledge, and subjectivity, by articulating historical, religious, territorial, and educational practices as forms of insurgency. The research adopts a bibliographic review method, drawing from decolonial authors such as Aníbal Quijano, Walter Mignolo, and Breny Mendoza, and connecting them to Afro-Brazilian intellectual production and practical examples linked to the Black movement, education, and African-based religiosity. The findings reveal that Amefricanity not only challenges the coloniality of knowledge but also materializes in cultural and pedagogical practices — such as the struggle for the legalization of Candomblé, the implementation of Law nº 10.639, educational projects and academic research that promote the valorization of Afro-Brazilian epistemologies. It is concluded that Amefricanity constitutes a political and epistemic platform that breaks with colonial thought, affirming new ways of being, thinking, and existing, rooted in ancestry, diversity, and the dignity of Afro-descendant peoples.