• Source: Carlos Fernandes (activist)

Carlos Anderson Henriques Fernandes (October 12, 1983 – February 26, 2024) was a prominent LGBT activist as well as the director and a founder of Associação Íris Angola (Iris Angola Association), the first LGBT organization in the country. His work played a role in decriminalizing homosexuality in Angola and improving the country's LGBTI rights.




Career and impact


Fernandes' career before his time at Iris Angola is not widely documented. According to Fernandes' Instagram, he previously worked a variety of jobs such as advertising distribution in Portugal, construction assistance in Spain, and management of Bar Manda Fama in Luanda.
Fenandes and Paula Sebastião, a fellow activist at Iris Angola, described coming up with the idea of an LGBT organization in 2013 while participating in PSI's PROACTIVO project. The foundational objectives were "to contribute to a future in which sexual minorities have space, voice, participation and rights in Angolan society."
Iris Angola, UNAIDS, and other groups pushed towards the revision of Angola's penal code to legalize homosexuality in the country and get legal protections for sexual minorities. The new penal code was created in 2019.
Fernandes participated in a 2021 pride month celebration at the U.S. embassy in Luanda. The event, called "You Are Included", took place over Facebook live; it was discussion on LGBT+ issues with other Angolan activists including the transgender activist Immani da Silva, Liria de Castro from Arquivo de Identidade Angolano, and Michel Kouakou from the UNAIDS organization.
In 2022, Fernandes served as an interlocutor for an oral history project made by GALA Queer Archive and the Arquivo de Identidade Angolano. The project focused on Angolan queer activism with the goal of creating an archive of queer life in the country. According to Caio Simões de Araújo, a leader of the project, he was aware that Fernandes was working on a documentary about LGBTQI+ activism before his death.




Death


Carlos Fernandes was found dead in his home on February 26, 2024. His death is a suspected homicide by asphyxiation. As of 2024, investigations are still ongoing. According to statements on Iris Angola's Facebook page, mourners attending his funeral at Benfica Cemetery were attacked.




References

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