Cynthia Martins is a journalist at Rede Bandeirantes, and currently hosts Jornal da Noite and Jornal da Band. She also presents the Pretoteca podcast, in which she addresses racial inequality and interviews notable figures. Cynthia Martins talked to Juan F., age 10, about her career and the importance of an anti-racist education.

What made you become a journalist?

When I was a child, I looked up to some of my teachers, so I wanted to be one. And my generation was heavily influenced by television, so sometimes there would be a character like a firefighter, and I’d say, “Oh, I want to be a firefighter.” As I got older, I came across other options. I chose journalism because I always thought it was a path toward changing things. Thinking in a bit of a grandiose way, it was a desire to change the world. Of course, you can’t change the world all at once, but providing information to people is a way of doing that.

Where did the idea for the Pretoteca podcast come from?

It was created by a journalist, Luiz Teixeira, who is now at Globo. Luiz worked at Band and launched this podcast in 2020. After he left, BandNews FM Radio invited me to take over. The podcast is geared towards talking about this topic [anti-racist battles] (…). We interview black people who are known in this universe. For example, dona Léa Garcia, who unfortunately left us not long ago.

LÉA GARCIA (1933-2023): brazilian actress, who was nominated for the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Black Orpheus (1959), which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1960.

And which episode most affected you?

I mentioned Léa Garcia precisely because hers was one of the episodes that affected me the most. I had just watched the movie Black Orpheus, for which she competed for one of the most important awards in cinema. And at the time, for a Black woman to be nominated for such an award was huge! Since I grew up watching her on TV, our conversation was very memorable (…). I felt she embraced me, I felt close to and connected with a person that I had seen enter my home through TV my entire life.

Have you ever experienced racism?

Yes. We experience it almost daily. In the past, it was thought, not explicitly, that the racist person was the one who said, “I don’t like you because you’re Black.” But you can’t reduce it to just that. Racism is a very serious thing that is within society (…) Given that we are the majority of the population yet are not present in places where we should be present. For example, I am still the only Black newscaster on Band’s free-to-air national TV network. And this isn’t just the case where I work (…). And I’m not just talking about journalism. We’ve never had a Black Brazilian president, even though we are the majority.

What advice would you give me so I can stand tall if I experience racism?

I’ve learned that it’s important to show people like you, who are just starting life now, that our journey did not start with pain. We know that there was slavery, a past that was very painful for our great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. But it’s important that you seek out stories and children’s books, for example, that show Black people’s wealth. We come from African people who were kings and queens; there is a lot of beautiful stuff to show (…). You are gigantic, and you can be whatever you want to be. Some days will be tough, but you hold hands with those who are by your side, talk to those you trust, and stand tall: because together Juan and Cynthia can accomplish much more.

What is your final message to Black children in Brazil? That you are our dreams. The fact that you exist is my dream come true and that of those who came before us. Those people experienced many hardships so that we arrive to the present moment with a generation as beautiful as yours (…). And you are a lot more prepared. Including in terms of your self-esteem with your hair. I straightened my hair for such a long time to hide the beauty of being Black (…). So, I tell all Black children to unite and not forget where they come from, that they can be whatever they want to be, and that being Black is so beautiful.

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