Martha Abreu did her BA and MA in History at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF, 1979 and 1987) and her PhD in History at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP, 1996). She is an emeritus professor at UFF and was a visiting professor at Universidade Federal do Estadado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO 2018- 2019). Her work focuses on the history of Brazil and the history of the African diaspora in the Americas, with works on popular culture, black music, cultural heritage, post-abolition history, memory of slavery and race relations during the 19th and 20th centuries. She participated in the project ‘Passados Presentes (present past): memories of slavery in Brazil’ with Hebe Mattos (www.passadospresentes.com.br).
Martha is a consultant of the Pontão de Cultura do Jongo (a programme developed by UFF to support the Afro-Brazilian dance jongo) and the Museu Casa do Pontal (a popular art museum). Her most recent published book is Da Senzala ao palco: canções escravas nas Américas, 1870-1930 (Histori@ Ilustrada, EdUNICAMP, Ebook available on Kindle), and the collection of articles she organized (with Giovana Xavier, Livia Monteiro and Eric Brasil) Cultura Negra: New challenges for historians. 2 vols., Niteroi: EdUFF 2018 (Vol 1, Carnivals and Black Heritage; Vol. 2. Trajectories and struggles of black intellectuals).