INTRODUCTION:
In November 2025, the Health Sciences Center of a federal university hosted the 2nd Capixaba Symposium on Black Population Health. Under the theme "Racism, Health, and Equity," the event established itself as a forum for resistance and strategic proposals for implementing the National Comprehensive Health Policy for the Black Population (PNSIPN) within the Unified Health System (SUS), addressing structural racism as a social determinant of health.

METHODS:
This report is based on participant observation by students from the Graduate Program in Collective Health (PPGSC). The symposium's methodology prioritized the horizontal construction of knowledge through dialogic panels, roundtables, and conversation circles, integrating academic, popular, and ancestral knowledge. Results and

DISCUSSION:
The event brought together 120 participants, deepening the debate on neglected health indicators and racial inequities. A highlight was the advancement of Black student leadership in the organization: the number of Black graduate students on the organizing committee rose from 03 in 2023 to 09 in 2025. This growth is a direct reflection of the racial quota policy implemented in the PPGSC since 2019, demonstrating how Black presence qualifies scientific debate and challenges exclusionary structures.

CONCLUSIONS:
The symposium reaffirmed that scientific production and management within the SUS are inseparable from the fight against racism. The experience highlighted that the occupation of decision-making spaces by Black researchers is fundamental for an equitable Collective Health field. It concluded that combating racial inequalities is an ethical and political imperative indispensable for consolidating democracy in public health.