Letter to Vinicius Junior, from Preto Zezé – 05/23/2023 – Sport

Brother, first I wanted to be with you now to hug you, to offer you my shoulder to serve as a floodgate to drain your tears.

You are big and imposing, not only because of what you are today, but because of the barriers and obstacles you have overcome since the dirt streets of São Gonçalo. There, you were already an idol of your mother, your family and the people who love you and have always been with you.

Last Sunday (21), they made you cry. And I’ve already felt this cry, this lump in my throat, this anger and this urge to jump over the fence and beat the racists up. You don’t have to apologize for that, you’re being human. And not letting silence crush your revolt, which gushes from your eyes and wets your face and mine as I write to you.

Since I saw the video, I was sad, down. Yes, as warrior as we are, warriors are people. And our mothers said that we didn’t have to humiliate ourselves for anyone. Dona Fátima used to say that if you get caught on the street, you get caught at home too. I recovered so I could write to you today and tell you that I feel with you, to laugh and to cry.

Tears, brother, do not hide our strength. They reveal that, even in the face of so much brutality, our humanity runs against the margins that try to oppress us, seeking to transform our reaction into guilt, our self-defense into violence.

I learned from rap to control my hate. Even more: to transform my revolt into political action (not the politics that many say they hate), politics in the sense of affirming our lives, protecting our reputations, acting in defense of our peers, expanding our particular cause to a much larger community. .

Those tears will make you stronger, but don’t let violence capture you, let the quicksand of revenge kidnap you, seduce you and then drown you.

Today, many black people, of various tones, accents, dialects and languages, join you.

They, the racists, in fact, fear that Vinicius Junior, who crushes defenders, would love racism off the pitch.

They want to force our tears to stifle the beauty of our smile, which, for a long time, made us feel ashamed and think we were ugly, producing self-hatred and shame.

They are desperate to know that you are dodging prejudice before, during and after games. They don’t know what to do and think they found a way to scare you, to get you out of focus.

This weekend, we will have the Favelas Cup. And we will have a plaque in his honor. Not for that reason, but for them to know that Vini Jr’s team has fans all over the world, that in the stands there are fathers, mothers, friends, relatives and people who are inspired and wish you well.

Let’s fight to turn this moment of pain and hate into results so that values ​​change. Just arresting and punishing racists is not enough, we have to dissolve and change values ​​in society to defeat racism. Count me in, brother. And know that, on and off the field, through the dirt streets where dreams sprout, you are spreading the net of hope and taking goals for the lives of girls and boys just like you.

In life, we were always taught that we had to do more, take more than 10 even though we were dozens of times late. You changed the rule, installed dance where there was cold and straight football, shed elegance on the green catwalks of the world’s lawns, where ugly face and brute force succumbed to the swing of the black boy from São Gonçalo.

Tomorrow I’ll buy Vini Jr’s shirt. and I give it to José, my son, Pandinha. And I’m going to take him to the Fortaleza game, to increase the despair of the racists. But, mainly, to say that, with that, they won’t stop Vinicius.

On the contrary!

We will make this omission from the racist VAR, from the football industry, the gas to come back in the second half and turn the game around.

Football could create shame in the face and, based on that, change rules, set limits, make punishments urgent regulations so that this would stop happening. We are more and more prepared.

Clubs will be forced to reflect on how important it is to respect diversity, particularly racial diversity. Can you imagine football without us blacks?

We are the ones who sell out stadiums, break box office records and put on the show. Nothing fairer than there being balance and respect for those who make the machine turn.

Lawmakers could make laws that not only punished, but produced more opportunities for Vinicius’ millions around the world.

I know that, in a few days, when the press is out of the loop, the networks are busy with new guidelines and the algorithms cling to new hypes, maybe this will cool off. But I won’t forget that, just as I never forgot the day I found myself black, at the age of 15, and I discovered how everything forms and operates negatively around us.

I wish you peace, health, mental rest. And always count on us.

Kisses in your heart, beautiful and magical boy.

I’m in the stands looking at you, cheering, loving you. I’m Vinicius Jr Futebol Clube. I love you!