[2] Original members of Quilombhoje, Paulo Colina, Oswaldo Camargo, Aberlado Rodrigues, and Cuti began informally meeting in bars from 1980 to 1982.
Consequentially, the poet's feminist ideas clashed with the outspoken machismo of male writers and all of the original authors left the group except Cuti.
When asked in an interview why he stayed amidst contention, he explained that the continuous debate and criticism of texts would contribute to the improvement of their literary quality.
[citation needed] Conceição, Alves, and Ribeiro published frequently in Cadernos Negros participating in eleven, sixteen, and twenty-three issues respectively.
Ribeiro has been heavily involved in all stages of the production of Cadernos Negros including its ideological agenda, political and cultural promotion, and financial transactions since 1997.
[citation needed] The works produced have included discussions about literary aesthetics, ideological resistance to racism, the retention of black cultural heritage in spite of slavery, homage paid to African religions through Candomblé rites, and family values and sexuality.
As author Niyi Afolabi writes, "Quilombhoje's response begins where the preabolition and postabolition writers left off, carefully dialoguing with their currents while at the same time renewing and redefining their own commitments and significance.
It documents the series of debates organized by Quilombhoje at the III Congress of Black Cultures in the Americas in 1982 at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo.
[12] Quilombhoje also sponsored poetry readings called círculos de poemas (poem circles) that paid homage to important Afro-Brazilian artists, including Luís Gama, Pixinguinha, and Lima Barreto.