A Famous Children’s Author Praised the KKK — The Hidden Side of Monteiro Lobato

Monteiro Lobato is one of the most important names in Brazilian literature, remembered by generations for his children’s stories. But private letters, debates about eugenics, and his 1926 novel The Black President reveal a far more disturbing side of his legacy. In this episode of Hidden Side Stories, we look at the documents behind that contradiction: Lobato’s correspondence with figures connected to the Brazilian eugenics movement, his views on race and miscegenation, and the unsettling ideas developed in The Black President. The point is not to erase his importance as a writer. It is to place his public legacy, private writings, and historical context side by side. Sometimes the hidden side of history was never truly hidden. It was simply left outside the version most people learned to remember. #HiddenSideStories #MonteiroLobato #BrazilianHistory #HistoricalDocuments #HiddenHistory