Visão de Maloqueiro: dialogue about mental health, racism and the cultural experience of funk

Abstract

Brazil is a country with a significant colonial legacy, manifested in numerous updates of racist institutional structures and practices. Psychiatry stands out in this history by promoting pathologization and institutionalization as devices for controlling Black existence in the post-abolition period. In light of this, it is essential for the field of mental health to recognize and incorporate Black culture, as well as Afro-centered references, in the production of knowledge and effective care practices. In this context, this research aimed to understand how funk culture has generated possibilities for existence and transformation of realities for Black and peripheral youth. The investigation explores the production of mental health and the effects of everyday racism. Six interviews were conducted, guided by the perspectives of “Escrevivência” by Conceição Evaristo, with young Black, peripheral, and funk artists. The results were organized into four thematic axes, highlighting the urgency of developing: the racial agenda in mental health, the de-institutionalization of racism, and the valorization of Black subjectivity. The research revealed that funk culture serves as a powerful expression of the ethical, aesthetic, and political dimensions of mental health among Brazilian Black youth. Additionally, it points to pathways for the production of care practices and social transformation.