The Honoree
At the age of 40, Benedita da Silva received her high-school diploma and attended college at the same time as her then 20-year-old daughter. In 1994, voters elected her to the Senate, becoming the first female senator in Brazil. In 2002, Vice Governor da Silva assumed the governorship of the State of Rio de Janeiro to become the first woman and the first Black to occupy the office.Brazil
As of 2007, the Brazilian Metropolitan Area with the largest percentage of people reported as Black was Salvador, Bahia. The 2010 census showed African-Brazilians as being the majority for the first time in the entire South American country. The results revealed that 97 million Brazilians, or 50.7% of the population, defined themselves as Black or mixed race, compared with 91 million or 47.7% who label themselves White. The 2020 Census resulted with about 120 million people—identifying as African -Brazilian.The country is home to the largest Black population in the Americas and second to Nigeria on planet Earth. The United States only reports 46.9 million who define themselves as Black or mixed race, resulting in Brazil having 50.1 million more Blacks than the United States.
