Alzira Rufino

Alzira Rufino (Santos, Sao Paulo, 6 July 1949) is a Brazilian feminist and activist associated with the Black Movement and the Black Women's Movement. She was born to a poor family and worked as a child. She won her first literary prize in her youth. At the age of 19, she began her studies in healthcare, graduating from nursing school. She is a leader in the Afro-Brazilian literature and cultural arts movement. In 1990, she founded Casa de Cultura da Mulher Negra (Black Women's House of Culture), the country's first black women's centre.