Pioneering organization created in Salvador to give visibility to black homosexuals
Although Adé Dudu was officially founded on March 14, 1981, in 1978, people who suffered from double prejudice began to speak out, paving the way for unity between members of the Unified Black Movement and the Brazilian Homosexual Movement. These discussions led to publications on the subject in the homosexual tabloid Lampião da Esquina, attracting many readers who would later become members of Adé Dudu.
The author of the cover story was Hamilton Vieira, a journalism student at UFBA, using an expression from the dancer Dionisius Filho (Nega Fulô). Both were involved with the group; Dionisius was one of the founders and Hamilton became a member shortly after.
The founders of Adé Dudu included Dionisius Filho, Antônio Carlos Conceição, Ermeval da Hora, Ernani Filho, Evilásio Santos, Genildo Souza, Jorge Santos, Marco Argolo, Marcus Mahallia, Roquinho Sóstenes (Sostinho), Tosta Passarinho, Wilson Santana and Wilson Mandela. They all had different social backgrounds. For example, Wilson Mandela was an economist and civil servant, while Ermeval was a factory worker and Tosta Passarinho lived off temporary work after returning from a self-imposed exile in Latin America in the 1970s.
The group’s first activity was a survey conducted between March and September 1981 to better understand the social, economic and cultural profile of black homosexuals. The date was strategically chosen right after Carnival, a time when Salvador received many people from this group from smaller cities. 102 interviews were conducted in nightclubs, squares, avenues and beaches, and the results were released as a booklet distributed in November, during the Black Consciousness celebrations.
As a legacy of Adé Dudu, in 1995, Quimbanda-Dudu was founded, also in Salvador, a group of black homosexuals linked to the Grupo Gay da Bahia, working for a decade in favor of human rights and against racism, sexism, homophobia and the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
By Ezatamentchy
Source: Maxima
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