Before Being Independence, It Was a Struggle For Liberation,

In 2022, this same room hosted the temporary exhibition Ato (DES)colonial, with the aim of “questioning Portugal’s colonial heritage during the dictatorship and valuing the experiences of anti-colonial resistance as determining processes for independence, but also for the overthrow of fascism in Portugal”.

Now, celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence, we have refocused on our archives to continue this reflection. Since 2021, progress has been made in describing, digitizing and making available the documentary funds donated to our documentation center, and available on the Aljube Museum – Digital Archive website.

Before independence was a liberation struggle, it was the work of exploring these funds, hoping that it would generate more anti-colonial and anti-racist thought and action, abolishing all forms of violence.

Rita Rato
Director of the Aljube Museum of Resistance and Freedom

Technical information

Curator: Rita Rato
Archive: Patrícia Cordeiro
Exhibition Design: Rita Rato and Eduardo Ferreira Graphic Design: Eduardo Ferreira
Texts: Aurora Almada, Victor Barros, Kitty Furtado and Miguel de Barros
Production: Ana Reguino and Joana Alves
Communication: Eduardo Ferreira, Joana Alves and Sara Borralho
Organization: Aljube Museum of Resistance and Freedom – Lisboa Cultura
Support: Tchiweka Documentation Association; African Activist Archive.