A potential article that I will improve on Wikipedia is the Luiz Gama page. When looking at his page, I saw content gaps in his biography. Specifically, there was a large gap between 1847 and the 1860’s, which is when Gama was 18-31 years old. One of my goals is to fill this gap with details of what he did during this period. I would also like to expand on what kind of cases he handled as a lawyer, as sources have indicated that he has helped free slaves using the law. The Works section is also quite small, so I will also look for more of Gama’s literary contributions. Gama was both a journalist and poet, but there is not a lot of information on the type of work he did. Lastly, more details on his contribution to the Republican Party of São Paulo and their success will hopefully be added.

This article is important for Brazilian history because Gama played an important role for the abolition movement in Brazil. In class, we covered the role of the elites and female slaves in the abolition movement. Although we recognized that free blacks played a role in the abolition movement, we did not go into details with a specific case. By updating the Luiz Gama page, I will be able shed light on the role of free black men in abolition. Gama’s case is especially interesting since he used his career as a lawyer to help slaves. This article is also important for Brazilian culture because Gama was also a journalist and poet. By examining his poems closer, one can gain a better sense of the Brazilian culture at the time. Gama’s work as a journalist would also reveal important topics that were occurring in São Paulo.

Reputable sources that exist to back up the new content I plan to add include several encyclopedias with information on Luiz Gama, such as Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience and the Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. There are also several books about abolition that include information about Luiz Gama, such as The Abolition of Slavery in Brazil, Children of God’s Fire: A Documentary History of Black Slavery in Brazil and The Destruction of Brazilian Slavery. There is also a Portuguese nonprofit organization in São Paulo, Brazil called Instituto Luiz Gama that is dedicated to Luiz Gama. The organization seems to be made up of professors and lawyers and their website provides more information about Luiz Gama as well. These sources will help add detail to the Wikipedia page of Luiz Gama. Lastly, I checked the Talk page and there were no comments on the page, so hopefully my additions will help.