Carolina Maria de Jesus literary works play an integral role in the development of Black feminism in Brazil. In both her texts, Child of the Dark and Bitita’s Diary she uses her writing as a fundamental tool for individual and collective empowerment. Although written in different periods and moments in her life, these two texts depict the how the act of writing pushes Carolina to visualize herself outside of oppressive systems targeted towards Afro-Brazilian women. The reflections of Carolina in her literary works recognizes and validates the everyday challenges faced by Black Brazilians women living in shantytowns. By using the general context of twentieth century Brazil, I highlight radical historical moments in relation to racial and gender politics. This paper provides a contextual foundation for Brazilian society during the period of Carolina’s lifetime in the context of racial hierarchies to evaluate critically prominent racial theories that shaped race relations in Brazil. In addition to this, this analysis enters in dialogue with feminist theoretical approaches both from Brazilian and U.S. scholars. Using these theoretical approaches, this paper analyzes the writings of Carolina Maria de Jesus to argue that they make her a pioneer of radical Black feminism in Brazil, as she uses her literary texts to challenge historically set notions towards Afro-Brazilian women. As an author and activist, she influenced the way the world of urban-dwellers was perceived by her providing a critical perspective on race relations in the country and its impact on women.