This work describes and discusses the process of construction of a positive racial identity within a black territory. The object of this study is the Marambaia Reef, located on the Southern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, which is known as Marambaia Island. At this moment, this area is the most important reference of racial resistance in Rio de Janeiro, concerning the concession of land property titles to the heirs of runaway societies remaining territories, as prescribed by Article 68 of the 1988 Federal Constitution. Since the informal donation by a carioca slave trader from the Nineteenth Century of this lands to the families of ex-slaves who used to live there, untill our days, this territory have been under several disputes for its holding, use and property. Controlled by the Brazilian Navy since 1971, and recently recognized as a runaway society remaining area, this reef still shelters the families of the ex-slaves who are the heirs of the initial donation. Those are the ones who presently dispute with many others social agents the right of use and property of this territory based on their racial and cultural heritage. The goal of this work is to understand the process that made possible to deconstruct the previouss negative racial identity of that population to give birth to positive racial identities, individual and collective, for the historical owners of that land. In terms of methods, this work uses a qualitative approach and the documental base is composed by interviews with residents and institutional agents, public documentation about the recognition of the region as a runaway society remaining area and the historical, geographic and anthropological data contained on the official anthropologial report about the region.