Ana Beatriz Martins Melo Rodrigues (born August 24, 2001), also known as Jade Beatriz, is a student, activist, poet and slammer in the Brazilian student movement. She is currently the president of the Brazilian Union of High School Students (UBES), having been elected during the movements 44th Congress. Jade is the first woman from Ceará to lead the UBES.[1][2][3]

Jade Beatriz
President of the Brazilian Union of High School Students
In office
May 15, 2022 – June 16, 2024
Preceded byRozana Barroso
Succeeded byHugo Silva
Personal details
Born (2001-08-24) August 24, 2001 (age 23)
Fortaleza, Brazil
Political partyCommunist Party of Brazil
ProfessionActivist

As a person of color from suburban Northeast Brazil,[2] she claims to be the first in her family to pursue higher education.[2][4] In addition to writing articles on education in the national press,[5] she is a columnist for Notícia Preta.[6] Jade is a member of The Socialist Youth Union, the youth wing of the Communist Party of Brazil.[7]

Biography

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Born and raised in the district of Ellery, on the outskirts of Fortaleza, she is the eldest of five children of a couple who were cleaners and fruit sellers.[7] Jade graduated from state technical high school with a concentration in logistics, and is a currently a university student.[3]

She began her career in the student movement as founder and president of the Frida Khalo guild, at the Dona Creusa do Carmo Rocha State School of Professional Training.[7] Before assuming the presidency of the UBES, she has served as director of the department of culture at the Cearense Association of Secondary Students (ACES) from 2019.[8] In 2020, she was the youngest candidate for councilor in Fortaleza.[2]

Jade was elected to lead the UBES for the next two years with 84.79% of the votes. She was part of the "United in the effort to defend education and Brazil" campaign, at the 44th Conubes, held in Brasília, which was attended by 2,000 students, considered the largest in the history of the entity in its 73 years of existence.[7][3]

References

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  1. ^ "Estudante negra e nordestina, Jade Beatriz é eleita presidente da Ubes". Metrópoles (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  2. ^ a b c d "Jade Beatriz: "Consegui reverter o que a sociedade desenha pra gente que é jovem, negra e da periferia"". O POVO Mais (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  3. ^ a b c "UBES elege estudante negra e nordestina para presidir a entidade nos próximos dois anos". Ubes - União Brasileira dos Estudantes Secundaristas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  4. ^ Rocha, Igor (2022-05-16). "UBES elege estudante negra e nordestina para presidir entidade". Notícia Preta (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  5. ^ "Por que sou contra o homeschooling". Fausto Macedo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  6. ^ Preta, Notícia (2022-05-31). "Mais uma vez a educação é atacada e mais uma vez vamos juntos às ruas". Notícia Preta (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  7. ^ a b c d Rezende', 'Jáder (2022-05-16). "Nova dirigente da Ubes, Jade Beatriz, quer priorizar a transformação social". Educação básica (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  8. ^ ""Ser protagonista da própria história": O chamado da comunicação para as mulheres estudantes". Ubes - União Brasileira dos Estudantes Secundaristas (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2022-06-06.