Differences and Inequalities at the University of Brasília:The experiences of Young Black Females and Their Views about the System of Quotas

O presente artigo apresenta dados parciais de uma pesquisa sobre a trajetória escolar e familiar de jovens negras que ingressaram na Universidade de Brasília pelo sistema de cotas. Analisa algumas experiências de estudantes cotistas dos cursos de Psicologia, Serviço Social e Medicina, com destaque para as avaliações realizadas pelas mesmas a respeito desse programa de ação afirmativa nas universidades públicas. As cotas não representam a única forma de luta pelo reconhecimento e redistribuição, mas refletem a importância e a necessidade de uma modificação mais profunda na gramática dos discursos no interior da universidade e no atendimento das demandas políticas e sociais.This article presents some of the results of a research project which studies the education and family background of black female students at the University of Brasília. The young women interviewed were attending the courses of Psychology, Social Work and Medicine, and had passed through a quota system for black students. The article focuses on the attitudes and evaluations of these students regarding their experience of this new system which is directed towards affirmative action in the public universities of Brazil. The establishment of systems of quotas is not the only way of achieving recognition and redistribution, but it reflects the necessity of an adjustment of the university system to the political and social requirements of the Brazilian society and its people. Keywords: universities; affirmative action; quotas; black women; race relations