Who Is Black in Brazil? A Timely or a False Question in Brazilian Race Relations in the Era of Affirmative Action?

Abstract

At the end of 2001 the question of race became part of the Brazilian national agenda under the pressure of black social movements for the establishment of quotas for admission of Afro-Brazilians to public universities. There was already strong resistance to this proposal. One of the principal arguments against this kind of affirmative action was and continues to be that Brazilian racial boundaries are not as rigid as those of the United States-that, given its substantial miscegenation, it is impossible to know who is black. The myth of racial democracy seriously limits realistic discussion of racism and racial identity because it prevents the identification of dysfunctional race relations. The question is not who is black but what sort of society Brazilians want to build.

Performance of Students Admitted through Affirmative Action in Brazil

“…7 Black movement activists have fought for racial equality in the educational system since the 1940s and were fundamental in advocating and pressuring the state to implement affirmative action policies. For more, see Johnson and Heringer (2015), Santos (2006), andTelles (2004). 8 Several other affirmative action measures and policies were implemented by municipal and state governments and nongovernmental organizations in Brazil in the mid-1990s, including social programs targeting poor neighborhoods, job-training programs, preparatory courses for university admission, and support for black-owned business (Heringer 2001).…”

Validade de constructo da escala Experiences of Discrimination em uma população brasileira

“…Um exemplo é o racismo institucional que se observa nos cuidados em saúde, na escola e na justiça. Esses tipos de discriminação estão presentes na sociedade brasileira, como mostram as iniquidades no acesso, utilização de serviços e na atenção dispensada às mulheres pretas 35 ; as desvantagens que enfrentam as pessoas pretas no contato com o sistema de justiça e a polícia 36 ; e a persistência das desigualdades em matéria de educação 4 .…”

Affirmative Action and Political Dispute in Today’s Brazilian Academe

“…However, the greatest resistance to affirmative action takes the form of objections to the system of quotas for the admission of black applicants to tax-supported universities. I have elsewhere (Santos, 2007) described the quota system as a technique for implementing affirmative action whereby, in the competition for social goods (for example, university entrance), a percentage of places is reserved for members of one or more social groups that are victims of discrimination and members of that group compete for them only among themselves. The common denominator of all concepts of affirmative action is that it is implemented on behalf of individuals or groups that have suffered or are still suffering from negative discrimination within a society.…”

“…In this situation, the issue becomes whether race-based discrimination really exists in Brazil. Official agencies such as the Institute of Applied Economic Research and a number of individual social scientists have asserted, on the basis of their research, that Brazilian society is indeed racist and discriminates against its black members (see Santos, 2007). It was for this reason, among others, that the Supreme Court declared the system of quotas for black students in Brazil to be constitutional.…”

“…The introduction of quotas means the forced redistribution of positions within a public program of high quality and supposedly universal availability (public higher education) 12 to members of groups that have historically been marginalized. According to Pedro Demo (2003), an attempt is being made to hide the political nature of the confrontation by using various arguments (see Santos, 2006;2007;2009) that avoid any mention of the struggle to keep places in universities open only to better-off Brazilians. Most better-off Brazilians are white, and the poorer ones are mostly black.…”