Happy Birthday to the Brazilian Marxist educator and philosopher Paulo Freire! He is known for Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), which theorized how oppressed people could be empowered by revolutionary education.

Aftr the US-backed military coup of 1 April 1964 Freire was arrested, interrogated and jailed for 70 days. The military called him an "international subversive" and "a traitor to Christ and the Brazilian people", while a judge accused him of plotting to turn Brazil into a communist state. He was forced into exile for 16 years.

Freire argued that education could be a tool for social change. Despite repression and censorship from right-wing forces in Brazil and worldwide, his work continues to inspire educators and activists in the struggle for social justice.