Os impactos do racismo estrutural no acesso e permanência de estudantes quilombolas ao ensino superior jurídico na Universidade Federal do Pará

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the impacts of structural racism on the access to and permanence of quilombola students in legal higher education at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). The research is grounded in the author’s own trajectory as a quilombola from Marajó, as well as in the experiences of quilombola youth from Salvaterra who entered the Law program through the Special Selection Process (PSE). Based on a literature review and a qualitative analysis of narratives, the study seeks to understand how structural racism manifests institutionally within the university, affecting academic persistence and the identity construction of students. Through bibliographic and qualitative research, including autoethnographic accounts and interviews with other quilombola students, the work discusses the relevance of affirmative action and racial quota systems as instruments of historical reparation and social justice, highlighting both advances and limitations in their implementation. The analysis reveals that, although the PSE has enabled quilombola students to enter historically elitist programs, economic, curricular, and institutional barriers still hinder the effectiveness of inclusion. The study concludes that the university must move beyond Eurocentric practices and adopt differentiated pedagogical policies that recognize quilombola knowledge, ensuring real conditions for permanence. The quilombola presence in legal education, beyond being an individual achievement, represents a collective project of resistance and identity strengthening, reaffirming education as a fundamental human right and as an instrument of social transformation.