By analyzing narratives told in demonstrations, this study aims to understand how mothers who have lost their children in police violence organize their suffering by narrating such death. This study aligns itself with interpretative qualitative research methodology. The analysis was guided by Narrative Analysis and Anthropology of Emotions.
In Rio de Janeiro, young black people in poor communities are frequently the victims of police violence during police operations in their search for criminals (often drug dealers) in these areas. For example, in 2017, 1124 deaths were classified as homicide due to police intervention in the state of Rio de Janeiro, 70% of the victims were black. The death of these young people is often accompanied by accusations of resistance to some police command or involvement with criminal actions. The mothers of these victims struggle for justice in Rio de Janeiro by engaging in a social movement known as Rede de Comunidades e Movimentos contra a Violência. By analyzing these mothers` narratives, this study aims to understand how these women organize their suffering by narrating what happened with their children. This study aligns itself with Narrative Analysis (BASTOS and BIAR 2015) and interpretative qualitative research methodology. The data were generated from narratives told by participants during demonstrations in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Understanding narrative as a form of organization of human experience (BRUNER, 1997), the analysis was guided by the notion of moral shock (JASPER, 1997), which includes events that provoke indignation and lead individuals to engage in social movements. The analysis suggests that these mothers transform their grief into revolt by engaging in social movements to fight for justice. The relations of solidarity created enable the participants to continue their struggle. Their narratives frame the event that lead to the death of their children as an individual experience. On the other hand, they make connections with an experience that is shared between all mothers engaged in the Rede, which is the pain of losing a child in a context of violence and structural racism. In this sense, these narratives build together individual and collective experiences.
