# Back to black  
Various types of Afro-Brazilian organizations appeared during the twentieth century, although until the last quarter of the century they were mostly cultural entities because of political constraints. There were theatre groups, commercial associations, university study groups, and small recreational clubs. The most important entities dedicated to studying Afro-Brazilian culture and to fighting racism included: the above-mentioned Ilê Aiyê (1974); the Sociedade de Intercâmbio Brasil-África (Brazil-Africa Exchange Society), created in Rio de Janeiro 1974; the Instituto de Pesquisa e Cultura Negra (Black Culture Research Institute); and the Centro de Estudos Brasil-África (Brazil-Africa Studies Centre), created in 1975 (Pereira, 2013). These institutions had an important intellectual impact as they were organized to increase knowledge of Afro-Brazilian culture and history, but also contributed to the political struggle for equality and identity.  
In 1978, Afro-Brazilians defied the dictatorship when they launched, in a public demonstration, the Movimento Negro Unificado contra o Racismo e a Discriminação Racial (Unified Black Movement Against Racism and Racial Discrimination). A year later, the same organization adopted the name of Movimento Negro Unificado, with branches in various states and cities of Brazil and with great intellectual input and political influence (Pereira, 2013). From 1979, as part of the slow return of Brazilian democracy, new political parties  
were formed, many of them creating opportunities for Afro-Brazilian politicians and incorporating the struggle against racial inequality in their political agenda.