To assess the legacy of the "second abolition," the chapter adopts a long-term perspective, following life trajectories and family memories across several generations. It portrays a dynamic and socially diverse suburb, where different social classes lived side by side. Drawing on the narratives of residents from the neighborhoods of Turiaçu, Oswaldo Cruz, Dona Clara, and Serrinha, the chapter reconstructs the mixed composition of the population and the diversity of migratory projects. Although racial identities are rarely articulated explicitly and race relations are never directly named in the interviews, the narratives consistently reveal an effort to distance oneself from the slaveholding society, its norms, and its categories. This effort varies according to individuals' social and geographical origins and proves more successful for some than for others. The chapter argues that every form of spatial or racial mobility entails risk and may be accompanied by social regression: marrying a Black spouse could bring someone back to a lower social status, while living in a favela alone could be enough to jeopardize one's social standing.