Todd Sheffield

History 344-Race and Ethnicity in Latin America

Dr. Enrique Cotelo
17 Nov. 2014
The sociological concept of race and discrimination based on phenotype continues to
exist from its origin thousands of years ago. Some societies overcame their difference of
appearance decades or centuries ago, but conflict between the races in Brazil has been a
relatively recent occurrence.
In Edward E. Telles book, Race in Another America, the details of Brazils race issues
emerge. Telles argues in his book that racism in Brazil is not solely based on race, but class, too,
plays a role in discrimination in Brazil. Telles lays out his argument by detailing what makes
Brazil unique in comparison to other states that experience race issues and by explaining to the
reader what policies need to be emplaced to provide for social progress in the region.
According to Telles, Brazil is different from its socially conflicted international peers, the
United States and South Africa, namely because of the way people view race. While the people
of the United States and South Africa instituted strong segregationist policies based mostly on
color, Brazil tended to have a high tolerance for race mixing, also known as miscegenation,
because of its colonial past (4). In terms of studying relations in Brazil, there have been three
major schools of thought. The first states that very little conflict or discrimination occurs, the
second claims what little discrimination does exist is phasing out of the social sphere, and the
third believes that discrimination is still widespread (6).

There are three prominent phases of racial ideology in Brazil that occurred over the last
century. It starts with white supremacy, then racial democracy, and ends with racial conflict.
White supremacy was a time where the white population sought to bring in more Europeans to
whiten the state (28). This concept guided Brazils immigration policy for decades (29). It
was the common belief that the darker ones skin, the more of degenerative qualities that person
held. In order to help the lower class, miscegenation brought the darker population to the same
level of character and superiority as the whites (28).
Next, Telles introduces Gilberto Freyres idea of racial democracy. Racial democracy
proposed the idea of miscegenation being Brazils national identity. The mind set in Brazil
changed from trying to whiten the population to practically everyone being of one race, and that
the differences between the people stemmed from culture, not race (33). During this time, to
acknowledge racial distinction meant chastisement and perhaps legal punishment.
Over time, international attention focused of Brazil who gradually admitted to having
issues between the people who identified as white and the under privileged darker groups. Black
activists started to form groups to fight for their rights (51). After many meetings with other
nations, progress in terms of social policies advanced the rights of blacks. Affirmative action
allowed for people of darker skin to find jobs because of the quotas set up for the enrollment and
employment of said individuals (74).
Census data is important in Brazil, but it is hard to gain accurate portrayals of what the
state looks like ethnically due to the high rate of miscegenation and the methods used to classify
people (88). Much of the data available relies heavily on self-classification or the identification
of individuals through interviews which leaves a lot of room for people to change their
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classification at later dates. Inconsistencies allow for great ambiguity in gathering accurate
measurements (89). The difficulty associated with racial classification makes identifying who
qualifies for benefits under social policies of affirmative action challenging. Since race is so
fluid, personal traits such as education, racial composition, gender, and age all have their own
impact on whether people identify as white or nonwhite (95).
The author seems to focus on income being the biggest feature of inequality. Stemming
from that, he argues that income inequality, poverty, education, and unemployment, among other
things, have kept the nonwhite population in the lower ranks of society (107-132). An argument
is proposed that industrialization could actually increase inequality between race and class
instead of the popular idea of modernization and industrialization alleviating disparities (138).
Telles states his beliefs on how to overcome inequalities. He believes that affirmative
action policies should map out ways to improve the nonwhite community socially. Even if the
policies lacked distinction between races, they should include a means for nonwhites to improve
themselves with mentors for the young and to raise confidence among the population (250).
Many people tried to deny racial discrimination in Brazil for decades. Sociologists and
other investigatory writers identified flaws in what people of the world once thought to be a
racially homogenous and harmonious nation. Policies of affirmative action and social awareness
led to the improvement of Brazails racial issues. While things might not be peaceful yet, the
state is on track to providing equal opportunities for its entire population.