BEYOND RACISM: Case Study: Brazil

Submitted to Dr. M. Snulligan Haney, Ph.D

by

Alcenir Oliveira
For
IPSC 689 - CONTEXTUALIZATION: MEANING, METHODS AND MODELS
Interdenominational Theological Center
Atlanta, Georgia, March 30, 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART I - COUNTRY PORTRAIT: BRAZIL

1. Purpose and main points

The Misadventures of Nonracialism in Brazil and Dance of Deception: A Reading
of race Relations in Brazil -

In “The Misadventures of Non-racialism in Brazil” a discussion is outlined about

the common sense that the Brazilian modernity found a common national destiny in
overcoming racialism and in valuing the cultural inheritance of Brazilian blacks,
mulattos, and caboclos [and cafusos]1 and raise questions about the validity of this
attitude, as far as there are traits of social, economical and political discrimination of
colored people in general in the country. For the accomplishment of this intention, some
topics were developed in sequence starting with a historical outline and followed by “The
Transformation of Anti-racialism into an Oppressive Ideology, Recovering the Concept of
Race, Comparing the Racist Systems, the Social Movements of Blacks in Brazil –
Antiracism, Political Conservatism and the Reaction Against Black Racialism, Limits of
Black Racialism” and concluded with a evaluation of perspective entitled “Toward an
Integrated Antiracist Agenda”.

1
Mulato is the descent of marriage of black and white people, the Caboclo is the descent of marriage of
white and native Indian people and Cafuso is the result of marriage of black with native Indian.
 It is intended in “Dance of Deception” to bring about the hidden meaning of the
usual concepts and ideological definition of the accepted designation of characteristics of
the Brazilian people. Most common said that Brazil has no races other than color
differences, supported by an ideology or socio-political philosophy called “racial
democracy”, the very appropriate title Dance of Deception dig up what goes undercover,
in the soul of those race discriminated and race discriminators, in both cases denying
their attitude with a posture of non-racism based on a ideology forced down the hearts
and minds of the people. To achieve his purpose, the author makes a brief historical
approach to begin with, adding a “General Picture” on inequality, a most specific
approach of racial inequality, followed by a evaluation of gender and race disparities,
education disparities, mortality and living conditions disparities, public images
disparities, the historical roots of inequality, closing down with a discussion on the
“Whitening, Demography and Color Classifications”, underlining perspectives, strategies
and opportunities.

2. The Key Points and Resources

We could list the main points discussed by the authors as “The Racial
Democracy”, “The Culture of Whitening”, “The Social and Economic Inequalities” and
“The Racial Inequalities”.

First, the so called “Racial Democracy” has the intention to impose on the minds
of the people a false understanding of racial equality where no color is entitled to be
dominant, is viewed as a evil attitude.

The second important approach is “The Whitening Culture” which was intended,
according to scholars, to establish as a strategy to create a political trend that would result
most to a whiter Europeanization and avoid the darker Africanization of the population.

Thirdly, “The Social and Economic Inequalities” that catch much more the
attention of scholars, intellectuals and politicians for being the most democratic Brazilian
issue, for it covers the majority of the population. Out of this point, in the fourth place,
the authors draw up “The Racial Inequalities”.
 To the racial inequalities is the higher discussion for the understanding that the
social inequality is irregularly distributed among the races, being the African descent the
most affected by the distribution of resources, that could be named as power sharing,
income distribution, access to education means, hunger, health care, employment or the
contrary “unemployment”.

The authors developed their analysis on data that described the evolution of the
race issue and black movement in the past since the beginning of last century when social
scientist started to discuss the issue. They also access data on socio-economic figures
from the most important resources of statistical research institutions of Brazil. The
discussion is highly documented listing the most prominent Brazilian social scientist who
wrote about inequalities in Brazil including racial.

3. Two Primordial Concepts in Significance

The two main concepts are those of social inequality and the racial inequality. The
country inherits a century of unequal distribution of power and income. It is easily
understood that Brazilian society, differently from that of the United States, was built
under the purpose of extraction of goods to be stolen by the European colonizers, being a
barrier for individual settlement, the building property and the accumulation of capital.
Even when the economy started to develop products of primary economical level, the
destination of its result was the foreign countries. Social scientists have evaluated the
Brazilian economy through history and express that its vocation till short before the last
decade of the XX century was of exportation. This implies the inheritance of the purpose
of the colonies since the beginning.

This Economic and social structure like this remained for years, even centuries,
developing a dependency of the people on the established dominant power to provide for
them, building up since the beginning the paternalism of the Brazilian political structure.
This is true not only for the African descent, who could not be even the owner of
themselves, but also by immigrants of other races. It resulted in one of the biggest
paternalist society in the world, dependent on the government to make decision about
their lives.
 4. Insights that Contributes to Life and Ministry
It is indeed required to be aware that this reality is of great help for ministry and life
of those who are going to be engaged in some sort of mission, so that they can understand
the hearts and minds of the people, as though as to understand how theology may be
developed and applied to this social environment. It would be nonsense to adopt an
attitude that match with a racist environment when discrimination happens in other
unknown instances, like socio-economic inequalities and its foundations.

5. Comments and Concerns

The other theme approached that is of utmost importance is related with the first
which is the racial inequality. The income distribution and access to social facilities in
Brazil is very well considered by the authors and give a great demonstration of the reality.
When considering the variables race or color and their correlation to the distribution of
income and services like education, health and, also, the level of impoverishment and
distribution among the population, the conclusion is that the population of African
descent is hugely concentrated in the lower level.

PART II - COMPARATIVE ISSUES

1. The Purpose

In “Comparative issues” a multiple approach is brought up to discuss the most

important themes of social development in the countries considered in this study (Brazil,
South Africa and the United States of America), vis-à-vis the roots of society formation,
which make evident the role of racism, racialism, discrimination and segregation either
related to biological-physical characteristic of the people and definition of class
positioning. The first, literally meaning mostly people of African descent. Second,
meaning the economical disadvantage of this people. The readings as a whole gives an
understanding of the big picture in terms of discrimination within a micro view, as
domestic affairs, and as a macro view, as an international issue that puts in evidence the
three nations aimed by this essay and the global consideration.
 2. Key Main Points

Related to the context of the assignment, four chapters of a total of six are being
considered in this essay. In “Race, Human Capital Inequality, and Income Distribution”2
the thesis of education as the means to reduce racial inequality is raised and deeply
discussed. In “Globalization: A View from South Africa the South”3 coincidentally the
point is that education is the key to prepare people for the new world economic-socio-
political paradigm, which applies to the three societies in evidence, despite the fact the
analysis is directed mostly to South-Africa. In “GDP Increases from Ending Long-Term
Discrimination Against Blacks”4 the consequences of discrimination on the national
economies, the ongoing productivity and a consideration of inclusion and diversity in
business are analyzed. In “Racial Discrimination as a Violation of International Law:
International Standards and Mechanisms”5 considers the standards and structures to
combat racism and discrimination internationally and the possible adherence to human-
rights values. These values are inserted in the issue of trade relations and international
affairs.

3. Main Points Reflections

The main points are four relevant aspects of human development in the context of
human life improvement and discrimination. The first is education, which is related to the
individual as human capital, racial origin and income and its role in improving the quality
of life. In Brazil, despite the efforts of the government to eradicate illiteracy, there are
long ways from that point up to college graduation and professional careers. According to
data from accredited statistical institutions, most of the colored people don’t make it in
the way up. The hypothesis is that “more education contributes to growth”, as it is
explained in the neoclassical growth models that “human capital accumulation is as
critical to the growth process as physical capital – growth is stimulated by increasing
savings and investment in education, a critical input to human capital”6.
2
O’CONNEL, Lesley & BIRDSALL, Nancy.
3
WILSON, Francis.
4
ZONINSEIN, Jonas.
5
MCDOUGALL, Gay.
6
O’CONNELL, Lesley & BIRDSALL, Nancy. “Race, Human Capital Inequality, and Income
Distribution”. In “HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality in Brazil, South
Africa, and the United States. Bouldler, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2001. P.276”.
 The second point is the influence of the growing process of globalization on social
inequalities. The growing world trade relations require technology, quality and
competitive price. These requirements have straight relation with the education process
and its efficiency in recycling the workforce to assimilate the new technology and, these
same individuals component of the workforce, to be prepared for continuous updating.
This reflection sends us back to the stratification of society whereas the lower levels in
the hierarchy may be there as a result of discrimination of race, color and other social
conditions.

The third point is that the economy growth, the GDP, is affected by the long term
racial discrimination. The restriction imposed on other races for the access to the human
capital development system, consequently, restricts the amount of human resources
available, shortening the competition and elevating the cost of skilled labor. Therefore, it
compromises the growth of the GDP and increases its cost. On the other hand, it comes to
the discriminating attitude of employers that give preference to specific race group, who
bar the access of the discriminated to labor market affecting the competition and
elevating the cost of skilled labor.7

The fourth point is a reflection concerning the need to make the discrimination an
international issue. Vis-à-vis the attitude of the international community, namely with
help of the United Nations, has changed as a result of the work implemented against
discrimination in the aftermath of the Nazi regime, and the “speedy and comprehensive
elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance is a priority task for the international community”8. The UN General
Assembly adopted in 1965 the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination (CERD), that represents advance in movement against racial
discrimination.

4. Key Resources
7
ZONINSEIN, Jonas. “GDP Increases from Ending Long-Term Discrimination against Blacks ”. In
“HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality in Brazil, South Africa, and the United
States. Bouldler, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2001. P.353”.
8
MCDOUGALL, Gay. “Racial discrimination as a Violation of International Law: International Standars
and Mechanisms”. In “HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality in Brazil, South
Africa, and the United States. Bouldler, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2001. P. 435.
 These comparative studies are result of long and tough researches that bring up
reliable sources that documents intensely the affirmatives presented in throughout the
work. They are founded on data from the United Nations Organization and her
Departments source of statistical information such as the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook,
UNDP-SA (United Nations Development Plan – South Africa), as though as government
official statistical data and independent research and bibliographical sources.

5. Significant Key concepts

There are many good concepts presented throughout the readings, however I would like
to consider as the most relevant the one that deals with education. Education is the
ground that sustain the reflection about the social situation of the countries considered
herein and is the variable that requires the development of strategies to avail it to all the
people so that they become competitive and able to help each other in better condition by
transmitting and sharing knowledge that is required in any level or circumstance of the
life in society. The following reflection is the one that carries concepts that support all
points brought to discussion in this essay: “education is the people’s asset. Among assets
that generate income across the world, it is the most equally distributed – and based on
the postwar trend in most countries, it has become even more broadly distributed.
Education is an investment that contributes to growth and, like other assets (land, and
physical capital), its distribution affects the distribution of income. In the economic lives
of people, opportunities matter. And in economies where a substantial portion or the
population has little or no human capital (a critical productive asset), only a part of the
population can exploit the growth process, thereby inhibiting average growth and

increasing income inequality”9.

6. Insights that Contribute to Life and Ministry

Education, economical growth, global vision and discrimination are four evident
foundations of wisdom that must be in the minds of any leader that intend to be of great
help for the community or in general for humanity, mostly when this contribution means

9
O’CONNELL, Lesley & BIRDSALL, Nancy. “Race, Human Capital Inequality, and Income
Distribution”. In “HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality in Brazil, South
Africa, and the United States. Bouldler, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2001. P.312”.
the relationship of the physical life with the spiritual life, in the case of ministry, as
spiritual liberation may have a connectedness with physical liberation, within the view,
action and teachings of Jesus Christ as a liberator in both ways, but with the necessary
care not to be misunderstood. Education is required for economical and social growth;
this growth leads to the global interconnection; and, at that far, the discrimination is
easier to be understood and challenged.

7. Additional Comments

The Brazilian Sociologist, Professor and ex-governor of the Federal District, Dr.
Cristovam Buarque, developed a project of holistic approach of the life of the poor. The
purpose of his project, applied during his government, was to develop in the poorest
families and their children a motivation to keep the youngsters in school. He established a
monthly payment of a small amount of money for the head of the family for each child
that register at school and be kept in school.

This project is called “Bolsa Escola”, a kind of scholarship that is paid to the parents.
Together with the “Bolsa Escola”, goes food assistance, which is a regular distribution of
a basket of enriched milk and bread, because the poor children can only stay in school if
they are not hungry. In his book “The Second Abolition” he says that “if the children will
be poor adults because are not studying in the present, and if they do not study because
they are poor, the solution is to break the vicious cycle of poverty paying the poor
families to send their children to school, instead of going to work”10.

PART III – PROSPECTS

1. Purpose
The author intention in essay is to discuss the nature of race attitudes in Brazil that
may be relevant within the context of the Southern education foundation’s Comparative
Human relations Initiative (CHRI), as though as for those who for other reasons may be
interested in the dialogues.
2. Key Main Points
10
BUARQUE, Chistovam. A Segunda Abolicao: Um Manifesto-Proposta para a Erradicacao da Pobreza no
Brasil. (The Second Abolition: A Manifest-Proposal for the Eradication of Poverty in Brazil). Sao Paulo,
SP: Paz e Terra, 1999. – Title translated by Alcenir Oliveira, student at ITC.
 At first, three ideas about racialism are discussed:
1) The anti-racialism has become intrinsic to the Brazilian social conscience; 2) Color
categories are neutral in Brazil; 3) Social movements advocating an inclusive definition
of Afro-Brazilian are practicing black racialism.
The second part is dedicated to the historical grounding. The third part deals with the
popular expressions of racialism in Brazil. The fourth part evokes the criminal justice
system; and the fifth part brings to the arena the education system. As reference point for
reflection, racialism is taken as a tool to denote biological theories of race.
3. Main Points Reflections
The first point can be summarized as “the controversial idea of racialism in Brazil”,
which comprises, to make it short, the three main ideas of “the anti-racialism, the
neutrality of color categories and the social movements practice of black racialism in the
Brazilian social conscience”. In documenting the ideal of anti-racialism personality
absorbed by the Brazilians after the 1930’s work of Gilberto Freyre, she says that this is
“also a positive value change elevating the society’s perception and acceptance of
African descendants and their culture”. And in this direction she cites Antonio Sergio
Guimaraes, who supports this consensus by saying that “Brazilian modernity found a
common national destiny in overcoming racialism and in valuing the cultural heritage of
Brazilian blacks, mulattos [children of intermarriage of blacks and whites] , and caboclos
[children of intermarriage of native Indians with whites]”11.12 About the color categories
of Brazil she explains it as something that is direct related with the appearance, the
pigmentation of the skin, differently of the race ideology of the United States that is
based on biological origin, for what she quotes of Edith Piza in an essay of whiteness in
Brazil saying that “... everything we say here about color classification, denomination,
and attributes in Brazil shall be screened inexorably by what Oracy Nogueira called ‘the
appearance rule,’ as opposed to the ‘origin rule’ that prevails in the United States”. 13
Most recently, the black movements and some researchers have come up with arguments

11
NASCIMENTO, Elisa Larkin. “It’sin the Blood: Notes on race Attitudes in Brazil from a Different
Perspective”. In “HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality in Brazil, South
Africa, and the United States. Bouldler, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2001. P.510.
12
Enclosed comments by Alcenir Oliveira.
13
Id. Ib. NASCIMENTO. P.510.
that rejects the “color categories” on the basis that intermediate color categories has been
discriminated, defining by a considerable consensus a group that gather the pretos and
pardos in one group that is called negros. This way the group negros, that includes all
African descent, becomes the second majority race in Brazil. For this, the black
movement change to be dealing with races on the basis of origin as it is done in the
United States and, therefore, returning to the racialism. Despite being too extensive these
comments, Nascimento argues that “it is not entirely clear why this criterion is seen to be
based on biological rather than social constructs, while in contrast its inverse, the
inclusion of persons with mixed ancestry in the “white” category, is considered devoid of
biological implications and therefore not racialist”.14
As source of reference for further studies lets bring some arguments, first as why the
so called racial democracy ideology intended to be anti-racialist is evil in the words of
Sueli Carneiro who says that there is in Brazil “a sophisticated, perverse, and competent
form of racism by means of which racial intolerance was masked as equality of rights on
the discursive and legal plane and as the absolute inequality of opportunity on the level
of concrete social relations”. The ambiguity is yet apparent in the words of Oliveira,
Lima and Santos whose argument is that “the racial stratification by power and prestige
is clear, well delineated and extremely rigid … whites are at the top … and pretos and
pardos are excluded”15
On historical ground she points out the way the Brazilian society, since the beginning
of colonization, started being mixed. But on the grounds of the scientific race theory at
the time it was condemned for the idea that it is a process of inevitable biological
degeneration. To justify the miscegenation, “a nationally constructed theory exalting
race mixture of the inferior racial stock by means of incentive to massive European
immigration and miscegenation”16, which is the base of the “whitening ideology”.
On the criminal justice, she draws on the racialist tradition in the Brazilian
criminology system what is called the “Lombrosian Heritage”. It incorporated the idea
that the individual has a biological and psychological predisposition to commit crime.
The Lambroso Criminal Anthropology Prize was conferred to the Criminal Identification

14
Ib.Id. P.512.
15
Ib.Id.
16
Ib.Id.P.514.
Office of the Federal District (Rio de Janeiro) in 1933 by the Italy’s Royal Academy of
Medicine. The criminal investigation involved identification of body traits and the skull
to define the individual’s race origin.
The racialist or racist popular expressions in Brazil are very common and numerous.
It is not mentioned by the author the fact that even much of African descent applies the
racialist popular expressions in jokes like when someone asks another to do a job, he ads
“do a white’s job” or “don’t do a black’s job”. The author, mention a similar situation
witnessed of a white Brazilian saying that “it is in the blood” the better quality of whites
labor,
As for the education system, it is prevalent the stereotype of biological inferiority
either by colleagues and teachers, who educators agree saying that teachers see the Afro-
Brazilian as student who lack potential to learn. In an interview by university researchers,
a teacher said that Afro-Brazilian children “can’t learn, they’re not disciplined, they’re
lazy and they give up soon. All they want is soccer and samba. It’s in the blood.” In this
case, three situations contribute to the aggravation: first is the differentiated expectations
of teachers as shown above, second is the silence of the teachers and failure of school
authorities to act, and third the stereotype reproduced in children’s literature and
textbooks that reflects racialist ideas engrained in Brazilian culture.17
4. Key Resources
Among others, the interviews, first with the Sociologist Sergio Adorno and then with
Friar David Raimundo Santos, are of great contribution to enrich the essay. The
reflections about the social problems of Brazil, related to economical and racial
segregation as a result of historical discrimination brings up not only an updated
overview of the most significant Brazilian problems, but also gives perspectives as for
what would be, shall be and are being done in such directions.
5. Significant Key concept
A significant key concept stated in the essay is that “miscegenation was elevated to
the status of a national ideal, then, not as an anti-racialist proposal but as a tool of social
engineering based precisely on the racialist notion of biological inferiority of Africans
and their descendants”. This concept, out of the promoted European immigration process,
17
Ib.Id. P.518/519.
the principle of eugenics, was formally registered in the 1945 Constitution, referred as
“the need to preserve and develop in the ethnic composition of the population the more
desirable characteristics of its European ancestry.”18 This concept is important not only
for its ideological racialist and racist content, but also for being formally adopted by the
ruling class.
6. Insights that Contribute to Life and Ministry
The study of context plays an important role in visualizing weaknesses and
strengths whenever a field of mission is considered for any project. This case study
shows how the social constructs of the life in Brazil grew in a correlation between
economical difficulties and race relations. It is very informative as to make one
understand how both economical and racial discrimination happens, and in such a way
that it doesn’t seem to be what it really is. First, the stereotype of Blacks in school as
those who lack potential to learn, who will soon drop out, give up, fail and also as those
who may prefer wander in the beach, drink alcohol, dance afro-music and play soccer.19
Second, the poverty highly related to the darker color of the skin leaving the African
descent in a high disadvantage, as Friar David Raimundo Santos put it, saying that “for
many years , Brazilian-African descendants will still continue to be the cheap labor force
of the Brazilian System”.20
In ministry it is required to aware of these relations so that the ministerial plan,
project, program and action adequate to the significance of the context.
7. Additional comments and concerns
It is amazing to find a story that is quite similar to our own. Frier David Raimundo
Santos was one of the 6 children of a divorced mother that came from middle class to live
in the Favela (Shantytown) feeding them with money earned by doing laundry in a
washtub. A woman that established a high purpose that was to work hard to lead all the
children through the university. And she succeeded.21
This story is very similar to mine, except for the origin, my parents came from
among the farmer workers called “Meieiros”, workers who works for half of the harvest

18
Ib.Id. P.514.
19
Ib.Id. P.518.
20
Ib.Id. P.538.
21
Ib.Id. P.539.
the get. The other differences are they weren’t divorced and we were 9, not 6, and 8 of
them went through the university.

Bibliography:
NASCIMENTO, Elisa Larkin. “It’sin the Blood: Notes on race Attitudes in Brazil from a
Different Perspective”. In “HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race
and Inequality in Brazil, South Africa, and the United States. Bouldler, Colorado:
Lynne Rienner, 2001. P.509”.
NASCIMENTO, Abdias do. “Dance of Deception: A Reading of Race Relations in
Brazil”. In HAMILTON, Charles V. et Al. “Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality
in Brazil, South Africa, and the United States. Boulder, CL: Lynne Rienner, 2001.
GUIMARAES, Antonio Sergio Alfredo. “The Misadventures of Non-racialism in
Brazil”. In HAMILTON, Charles V. et Al. “Beyond Racism: Race and Inequality
in Brazil, South Africa, and the United States. Boulder, CL: Lynne Rienner, 2001.
BUARQUE, Chistovam. A Segunda Abolicao: Um Manifesto-Proposta para a
Erradicacao da Pobreza no Brasil. (The Second Abolition: A Manifest-Proposal
for the Eradication of Poverty in Brazil). Sao Paulo, SP: Paz e Terra, 1999. –
Title translated by Alcenir Oliveira, student at ITC.
O’CONNELL, Lesley & BIRDSALL, Nancy. “Race, Human Capital Inequality, and
Income Distribution”. In “HAMILTON, Charle V. et al. Beyond Racism: Race and
Inequality in Brazil, South Africa, and the United States. Bouldler, Colorado:
Lynne Rienner, 2001. P.312”.