It means that I become an example for other blacks, that there exists the possibility of bringing something into being and transforming it. Someone has already said that the spoken word flies away but the written word lasts, and that's why I think it's important to write, even within my own little place. My presence in a store, anywhere, changes people's behavior because, being prejudiced, they are going to think about how to deal with me. So I make people think. I lead people to think.
Racism is a big problem in Brazil.
But so is sexism. I do have a concern for that. That really concerns me, because I think that every prejudice that affects women comes from this very issue, sex. To the extent that you see, in a little city like my own for example, that I have the courage to face all of this, to confront even my own family, who are simple people. I am doing my work, I am directing others towards the issue of sexism.