Random Musings: Racism and Prejudice in Brazil

Hi all,

Wow, it’s chilly this morning. I like to head over to the fresh market first thing on Wednesdays to buy vegetables for veggie soup, but I think I’ll do this post first and wait for the edge to come off the chill. brrr

I teach English to businessman and -woman here. During the course of classes, discussion often turns to the US, and to contrasts between the US and Brazil. I’ve had conversations a few times about racism and prejudice and my perceptions about them in the two countries. So I decided to set down my thoughts in a bit more serious post…

Racism and Prejudice in Brazil

Several years ago I visited Salvador during Carnival. The populous of Salvador is overwhelmingly black. I, even with a healthy tan, look pretty damn white.

However, I never felt threatened in Salvador, even with drunken Carnival crowds on all sides. I felt safer and more at home, in fact, than I would have in many U.S. cities, and certainly more so than I had during my visits to Grand Bahama and Nassau in the Bahamas, which have proportions of blacks and whites similar to those found in Salvador.

Brazilians are proud of their rich and varied cultural heritage, and often like to comment that in Brazil you won’t find the same racial prejudice and tensions that you do in, for example, the U.S.

I think this assertion is true – to a point. It would be naïve to maintain that there is no prejudice in Brazil. But what exists here is not so much racial prejudice as class prejudice. The distinction is important.

Blacks figure disproportionately among the poorest segment of society in Brazil, and these poor blacks often are looked down on. But the source of negative sentiment here is not so much their color as their financial status. A poor white will receive the same treatment as a poor black, in contrast to the U.S., where even today a poor white man might by some be perceived as having an advantage over a black man.

Conversely, a well-to-do black will encounter less prejudice here in Brazil than his counterpart in the U.S. In fact, an old saying in Brazil translates as “A black man with money is white.”

It is interesting to speculate on the reason for this difference. If I had to guess, I would say that race is less of a burden here because there was significant mixing of the races from the earliest days of settlement here. It’s hard to look down on blacks if you yourself have black blood in your family.

As far as prejudice can ever be considered fair, there is I think greater equity in Brazil. While your color is completely beyond your control, your financial situation, at least in theory, can be improved.

Since all foreigners visiting Brazil are assumed to be wealthy (and if you can afford to travel here for vacation, in global terms you are wealthy), they can typically expect not to face prejudice. Some price gouging, perhaps, but not prejudice.

No offense intended to anyone. Just my observations and thoughts.

See you soon with another Friday postcard.

John

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