Implementation of Law 10.639/2003 - skills, abilities and research for social change

Abstract The Law 10.639/2003 establishing the compulsory teaching of History and Culture and African Afro-Brazilian in the curricula of basic education in Brazil. This study aims to understand the reasons for the difficulty of its implementation, through analysis of federal public policy and academic productions related to it during its first ten years of operation. We concluded that the cohesion between the various educational policies is a factor, among others, which confirms the effectiveness of this legislation. The problems found in the execution of Law 10.639/03 are into the structural difficulties of Brazilian educational system and its racist ideological bases.