The Rev. Stephan T. Brown, S.V. D., director of University Ministry, arranged the forum for African-American History Month because of the important parallels between Brazil and the United States.

The history of both countries includes the slavery of Africans and their children. Slavery in Brazil was abolished in 1888, 25 years after President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves from the Confederate states during the midst of the American Civil War.

The advent of emancipation in Brazil so moved and gratified Pope Leo XIII that he crafted an historic pronouncement to church officials decrying the wrongs of human bondage and extolling the virtues of freedom.

Today, Brazil's population includes more people with African ancestry than any nation outside the African continent. An estimated half of the nation's 183 million people claim some African heritage, and census reports from Brazil reflect a population of black, white and mixed-race ancestries. Yet social and economic divides persist in Brazil, which is considered the most influential country in South America.