Overview and Sources - Racial Democracy in Brazil
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A few theories that could be expanded to "prove" the idea of racial democracy in Brazil as a myth:
-- Economic poverty and skin color are correlated in Brazil's 2000 census results (Available at: www.ibge.gov.br /home /estatistica/ populacao/censo2000/ populacao/religiao_Censo2000.pdf). If you read comparisons of the previous government census results, you will see a "whitening" of Brazil largely based on self-classification changes among Afro-Brazilian from brown to white.
-- Develop an explanation of the strong correlation between a "whiter" appearance and a higher income, and status. Look for statistics that show that few blacks reach the level of wealth, power that lighter-skinned Brazilians have.
-- Cite examples, even if they are anecdotal, that illustrate cultural "rules" that support the advancement and/or superiority of light-skinned people over the darker-skinned. Look for examples real-world racial restrictions like: law enforcement targeting dark-skinned Brazilians, unspoken attitudes expressed in movies, TV and advertising, or list euphemisms that are used in the general lexicon that are subtly racist.plaining the "myth" of racial democracy in Brazil.
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Solution Summary
Brazil has the largest population of African descendants outside the continent of Africa. Unlike the United States, which rejects ethnic self-identification with the "one-drop rule" for those of African descent (i.e. if you have one drop of black blood in you, you are classified as black), racial identification in Brazil is a matter of self categorization. In Brazil, an individual can appear black but identify themselves as white. More official ethnic identification is, instead, defined along economic lines.
Brazil's economy is the tenth largest in the world, but unlike the other nine (mostly Western) countries on the list, distribution of the national wealth is shockingly uneven. The top 20-percent of wealthy Brazilian, predominantly lighter-skinned African and those of Portuguese-descent, own nearly two-thirds of the economy, while black, brown and mulatto Brazilians claim less than three-percent of the remaining wealth
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OVERVIEW OF THE "MYTH OF RACIAL DEMOCRACY" IN BRAZIL
Brazil has the largest population of African descendants outside the continent of Africa. Unlike the United States, which rejects ethnic self-identification with the "one-drop rule" for those of African descent (i.e. if you have one drop of black blood in you, you are classified as black), racial identification in Brazil is a matter of self categorization. In Brazil, an individual can appear black but identify themselves as white. More official ethnic identification is, instead, defined along economic lines.
Brazil's economy is the tenth largest in the world, but unlike the other nine (mostly Western) countries on the list, distribution of the national wealth is shockingly uneven. The top 20-percent of wealthy Brazilian, predominantly lighter-skinned African and those of ...
Purchase this Solution
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