Histórias do meu povo [Stories of My People]. Reflections on Decolonial Pedagogies in Esmeraldina dos Santos’ Escrevivência - AP [Amapá State]

ABSTRACT In this article, we discuss the work of Esmeraldina dos Santos, a woman, Black, quilombola, from Amapá, residing in the Curiaú quilombo, Macapá-AP [Amapá State]. Despite having only studied up to the “6th year of grade school” at the time, Esmeraldina wrote the book Histórias do meu povo [Stories of My People], in which she gathers memories from her community that narrate elements of struggle and resistance of the Black population in Amapá. We characterize the work as an “escrevivência” - a literary narrative constructed by Black women, based on their collectivities and ancestries. We discuss how certain elements present in the work, such as the denunciations of racism experienced by her and her community, the environmental devastation promoted by capitalist accumulation in the territory, and gender stereotypes against Black women, can help in the construction of decolonial pedagogies, pedagogical models that collaborate with overcoming coloniality in our time, showing the interface between literature and education.