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Brazilian Black councilwoman Marielle Franco was assassinated in March 2018 by Rio de Janeiro’s right-wing militia. Born and raised in Rio’s Favela da Maré, Franco ran for city council in 2016 on an explicitly queer Black feminist platform that centered on working-class concerns, especially of Black women. Her supporters spanned from working-class favela voters to college students and progressives of various ages from different parts of the city. Once elected, Franco became a vocal critic of state-sponsored violence in Rio’s favelas, shedding light especially on the extrajudicial killings performed by Rio’s military police and associated militias. She was fatally shot on her way home from a Black feminist circle event, and just a few days after denouncing the slaughter of Black youth by the police in Rio’s neighborhood of Acari. Two former police officers connected with Rio’s militias were arrested the following year for the shootings; years later, two politicians from Rio, along with then head of Rio's Civil Police, were arrested for ordering her killing. Crucially, the years following Franco’s death, which went unsolved for over five years, became a defining moment in Brazil, when the country was called on to reckon with the pervasiveness of racist gendered violence in Brazil’s political life.

This essay bridges three moments of Brazilian history and politics: first, we connect the Brazilian historical and cultural context to Franco’s ascension and subsequent murder; second, we examine how Franco’s death worked as a reminder of the country’s violent colonial past amid contemporary right-wing violence. Third, we discuss how Franco’s memorialization has served as a catalyst for organized Black feminist praxis in Brazil. Despite continuous brutal backlash endured by Black women in the Brazilian public sphere, Franco’s legacy prevails. This essay furthers critical perspectives of intercultural communication arguing that gendered violence is a continuation of colonial practices. At the same time, we also highlight that the relentless feminist work by Black women from Latin America is a site of decolonial knowledge that deserves scholarly attention.

Public support for science is critical to managing emerging societal risks, particularly in contested scientific issues involving moral tensions. Incorporating moral concerns into persuasive messages may therefore represent a promising strategy for strengthening such support. Drawing on moral foundations theory, this study examined how moral framing shaped public support for science through two online experiments with U.S. adults across distinct risk contexts. In the context of agricultural biotechnology, Study 1 (N = 405) found that individualizing moral framing increased perceived message credibility and, in turn, support for agricultural biotechnology compared to binding moral framing. Study 2 on future pandemic preparedness (N = 218) further demonstrated that individualizing moral framing enhanced message credibility, which heightened moral engagement and subsequently increased support for federal spending. However, this serial mediation emerged only among individuals low in binding moral foundations. Theoretically, these findings advance moral foundations theory by identifying credibility and moral engagement as key mechanisms underlying the persuasive effects of moral framing. Practically, the results highlight the value of tailoring science and risk messages to audiences’ moral values to strengthen public support for science in contested risk contexts.

Media discourses on environmental disasters play a crucial role in shaping public opinion, perceptions of the disaster, policy formation, and management strategies. This study employed a computational approach to examine the African media agenda and sentiments surrounding flood disasters in Ghana over 20 years (2004–2024). Findings uncovered media discourses around the complex climate change paradox, government disaster preparedness, and risk management, as well as rural/urban practices and their effects. Results also indicated that the majority of coverage was positive (69.45%), whereas less than half (30.55%) was negative, with no neutral coverage. In addition, the study observed positive sentiments regarding the coverage of the proactive steps taken by the government and its agencies in responding to the disaster. In contrast, negative sentiments focused on the loss of lives and the destruction of property. The study discussed the role of cultural norms in these findings to contribute to the praxis of media and environmental disaster communication.