Hemetério José dos Santosan intellectual who lived in the mid-19th century until the beginning of the 20th, played a fundamental role in the country’s education and is recognized as the first registered black teacher teaching at high-level educational institutions in Brazil.
The defense of democracy, inclusive education and the end of education were the main battle flags of the teacher, grammarian and philologist, according to the “Hemetério dos Santos: the positioning of the black intellectual based on the works Pretidão de amor and Carta aos Maranhenses”by Marcela Moraes Gomes, published in an academic journal.
Teacher and military
Born on March 3, 1858, in the city of Codó, in Maranhão, Hemetério moved to Rio de Janeiro in approximately 1870 and taught in the Pedro II Colleges in 1878. Afterwards, he also served as an adjunct professor at the secondary school in 1890.
Years later, in 1898, he was appointed professor “for the Portuguese class of the adaptation course”receiving not only the appointment of professor for life, but also the patent of Army Major. In 1920, he became a professor at the Military College and received the rank of honorary lieutenant colonel.
Hemetério married fellow teacher Rufina Vaz Carvalho dos Santos and was a teacher at the Normal School of the Federal District.
Erudition and progressive vision
In an era marked by prejudice, the intellectual’s recognized erudition was one of the assets in achieving projection.
“The way used by the intellectual to reach such positions, although some hypotheses have been raised, is not so clear, but we can conclude that his performance as demanding and respected teacher were one of the reasons for this feat”, wrote Gomes.
Educator and activist
In addition to being a teacher, Hemetério was an intellectual engaged in social issues. In his works, such as “Pretidão de Amor” and “Carta aos Maranhenses”, he defended the social inclusion of black people, the fight against racism and .
Hemetério dos Santos left an important legacy for Brazilian education. He died in 1939, at the age of 81, according to the 2011 UFF publication.
