Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden promotes debate on the history and memory of Pretos Novos

On October 6, the Botanical Garden Museum will hold the third edition of the Negritude in Focus Forum, a program dedicated to promoting Afro-Brazilian cultures and encouraging debate on memory, history, and the environment. The event will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Museum's Multipurpose Room, with free admission.

This edition's guest is Ynaê Lopes dos Santos, professor of American History at Fluminense Federal University. The lecture will be titled “Who were our Pretos Novos?” and will be moderated by Marcelo Ferreira, engineering coordinator at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.

The Negritude in Focus Forum is part of the first phase of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden's Affirmative Action Plan, launched in 2024 with the inauguration of the Memorial das Mãos Negras (Black Hands Memorial). The initiative seeks to broaden the ethnic-racial dialogue within the institution and strengthen the JBRJ's commitment to a more just, diverse, and inclusive society. Each edition of the Forum brings together leading experts in fields such as history, museology, anthropology, and environmental conservation.

About the guest

Ynaê Lopes dos Santos is a professor of American History at Fluminense Federal University. She holds a bachelor's, master's, and doctorate in History from the University of São Paulo. Her areas of research include the history of slavery in the Americas, ethnic-racial relations on the continent, and the teaching of African history and black issues in Brazil, with published books in these areas.

She is a Young Scientist Fellow of Nosso Estado (FAPERJ), a Productivity Fellow of CNPq, and coordinator of the Afro-Americas Working Group of ANPUH. A columnist for DW Brasil, she served as a consultant for the Querino Project, curator of the permanent exhibition at Cais do Valongo (UNESCO), and the exhibition Pequenas Áfricas. O Rio que o samba criou (IMS). Among her published works are Além da Senzala (2010), História da África e do Brasil Afrodescendente (2017), Juliano Moreira: o médico negro na fundação da psiquiatria brasileira (2020), Racismo Brasileiro. A history of the country's formation (2022) and Sisters of the Atlantic. Slavery and urban space in Rio de Janeiro and Havana (2025).

Service
Negritude in Focus Forum: Who were our Pretos Novos?
With Ynaê Lopes dos Santos (UFF)
Date: October 6, 2025 (Monday)
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Multipurpose Room of the Botanical Garden Museum - 1st floor
Seats: 50, on a first-come, first-served basis
Free admission | All ages welcome

Live broadcast on the JBRJ YouTube channel.

Botanical Garden Museum
Visiting hours: Thursday to Tuesday (closed on Wednesdays) | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Address: Rua Jardim Botânico, 1008 – Jardim Botânico
Free admission