The trial of the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality n. 3.239/2004 by the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil declared the Decree n. 4887/2003 constitutional, being an important milestone for the rights of remaining communities of quilombo in Brazil. From the judgment of ADI 3.239/2004, this article aims to conduct a historical and conceptual discussion on the recognition of the territorial rights of the quilombo communities and point out the effective consequence of the outcome of the trial for the reality of the quilombo communities in Brazil and take as example the empiric case of the community of quilombo Cafundó, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. To this end, the history of the constitution of the rights of quilombo communities from the enactment of the 1988 Federal Constitution until the conclusion of the trial is recalled, emphasizing the votes of the Ministers on the concept of ethnic self-attribution, because this concept is a central element in the disputes involving these communities. In a succinct manner, as an empirical example of the struggles of the quilombo communities territorial rights, it is traced a history of the struggle of the community of quilombo Cafundó for their rights, highlighting the legal paths taken to guarantee the rights over their traditional territory, dividing this path into three moments that accompany the legislation in force in each period, since 1970. In the context of the Community of Quilombo Cafundó, the ADI’s judgment directly influenced the definition of the legal demands they faced, serving as an empirical example of how the consequences of the judgment of ADI 3.239/2004 may reverberate in the realities lived by Brazilian quilombo communities.