Anti-racism and the politics of memory in the 21st century: from the Portuguese Empire to the journeys of decolonisation

Abstract

In this text, I analyse how the anti-racist movement in Portugal, throughout democracy and especially in the last decade, has consolidated a political agenda focused on confronting the colonial past. I highlight the protagonism of a generation of black people born after 25 April 1974, whose journey intersects with Portugal’s post-imperial reconstruction. I also consider the impetus given by a transnational wave of protests which, in the 21^st century, articulates anti-racism with politics of memory and demands for historical reparations.