Silencing the Drum: Religious Racism and Afro-Brazilian Sacred Music

Silencing the Drum exposes the profound struggle of Afro-Brazilian sacred music against escalating intolerance. Danielle N. Boaz and Umi Vaughan blend legal scholarship with ethnomusicology, offering a compelling narrative rooted in interviews with religious leaders, musicians, and activists across Brazil. This multidisciplinary exploration examines the relentless attacks against the practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions--from discriminatory noise complaints in Bahia to vigilante violence in Rio de Janeiro.

The volume integrates multimedia elements including musical samples to vividly illustrate the struggles and resilience of Afro-Brazilian communities in the face of discrimination. As Silencing the Drum confronts the larger global issues of racism and religious freedom, it provides essential insights for scholars, activists, and anyone passionate about human rights and cultural preservation.

Danielle N. Boaz is associate professor of Africana studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte focusing on human rights, social justice, and the law. She is the author of Banning Black Gods: Law and Religions of the African Diaspora and Voodoo: The History of a Racial Slur. She runs www.religiousracism.org, which provides information about discrimination and violence against African diaspora religions in Brazil.

Umi Vaughan is professor of Africana Studies at California State University Monterey Bay. He is a scholar/artist and the author of Carlos Aldama’s Life in Batá Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum (Indiana University Press) and Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba (University of Michigan Press).