Afro-Brazilian Self-Identity in Brazil Essay

The modernize approach of religion and traditions of the old African culture now converted into an Afro-Brazilian culture that still has an impact and exists today which is also still celebrated in Brazil. I believe that without slavery, many of the importance of both sides of society selling slaves and buying slaves would not have shaped humanity in the modern world. “Two centuries had seen African and European cultural religious and linguistic habits merging into unique Afro-Brazilian social and religious customs, music, and storytelling (Nellis 62).” The cultural influence of Afro-Brazilians has persistently grew from celebrations like carnaval into a mainstream popular culture. Brazil holds a variety of different ideas, culture and people. These ideas and traditions include musical interests, dancing, different food dishes, literature and art, festivities, and religious practices.

Perhaps many people may argue that both the US and Brazil have similar collections of ethnic and racial groups, that is a big minority of indigenous individuals, such as blacks and immigrants from Germany, Italy, and Asia. The presence of the minority groups in both nations was led by activities such as slavery and colonization during the19th-century (Wade, 2017). Chinese predominate the United States while Japanese predominate Brazil. Globalization and the rapid advancement in technology have demonstrated that technological revolution hasn't done much in altering the way of life and the belief of many people (Moran, 2014). With this in mind, I propose research on the differences in culture between Brazilians and Americans. This is because culture is social hence it is not an individual occurrence, it is a product of society, and it grows from social interaction. Culture is differentiable to us by comparison. Thus we should compare different cultures.

Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery in 1888, with a legacy that was built on the backs of African slaves. For over five-hundred years, the Portuguese engaged in the Transatlantic Slave Trade with Brazil as the main recipient, where, between 1502 and 1867, almost half of Africans being imported to the Americas were sent to Brazil. (“Brazil: A Racial Paradise”, Black In Latin America, 2011, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Service, Web) The unfortunate reality of the slave trade to Brazil has led to a prevalent issue in modern-day society there: the influx of Africans during that time period has led to a large population of modern Afro-Brazilians who are disproportionately recognized by the government and society as a whole. Politically, Afro-Brazilians have little control over

Brazil is one of the most visited place in the world and also one of the most diverse countries in the world. More than 75millon people of African decent live in Brazil, this makes it the second largest black population in the world. Its attracts a large number of people because of it architecture, slums and rainforest. Brazil is contradictory because its was the last country to abolish slavery but also the first to claim that it was a racial democracy. Most people might not know that Brazil has its racial problems and that it has been going on for a long time. Brazilian race relations and conceptions of race are somewhat different from the United States. In Brazil most African descendents are people live in

First and foremost, it is important to differentiate the perception of black and white race mixing in both the United States and Brazil. In the United States, the offspring produced between blacks and whites are considered black. However, the status of a child produced by a white mother is typically reflected by the status of the mother. Degler revealed that, “From this perspective, the most feared combination in unions between blacks and whites was the one in which the white women married a black men”. This is because during slavery, when a slave owner would impregnate his female slaves, the children of the slave would also become a slave, but if the mother is white, it is very unlikely that the child would become a slave. Consequently in Brazil, due to larger acceptance range of race mixing, the descendants of an African and European relation

Afro Brazilians have had to deal with centuries of oppression. During these times, Afro-Brazilians have had to deal with various methods, and strategies designed to keep entire communities oppressed. Many of these methods have had effects so profound, they are still affecting many Brazilians till this day. Political oppression is one of the oldest methods known to man, along with unleashing a forceful police force mimicking military forces. Authoritarian rule also played a major role in the shaping of the country. Furthermore, an inept biased justice system will fail those who need protections, and justice the most. These four key modes will be objectively examined, as well as the efficacy of each of these repressive strategies, and the impact that they have had or still have in the Afro-Brazilian communities.

Honestly, I was also surprised that there are 134 categories of blackness in Brazil. It truly piqued my curiosity; and so, I did a little research about it. Firstly, I found out that “Moreno and Indio” are not even listed in the categories of blackness. The categories are even more detailed shades and variations, which was evaluated by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 1976 and was republished in 2011. These categories are self- discernment of each individual in Brazil (e.g. Avermelhada (reddish, with blood vessels showing through the skin), Cor-de-canela (tint of cinnamon), and Tostada (toasted)). Moreover, I surprisingly discovered that it is not only 134 categories, there are 136 shades and variation in Brazil, and Parda-preta

Within a matter of months, I went from knowing close to nothing about Brazilian music to now knowing not only about the music, but the culture of Brazil as well. We have studied many genres including Samba Afro, Samba Reggae and Axé, all of which are unique in their own way, but also have many similarities. Essentially, each one of there specific genres ties back to candomble in some way. In addition to candomble, they also heavily relate back to the African heritage and history. The 1980’s proved to be a pivotal turning point for all of these genres as the abolition of slavery was taking place.

Former slaves discovered a deep feeling of insecurity after the downfall of the monarchy. Since Brazil had always been a paternalistic culture (an Emperor and an autocrat of a patriarchal house to protect them), it even led to some men and women becoming nostalgic of their former ‘big houses’, as they were known, and were desperate for the patriarchal assistance they once had in abundance. Yet, the popular president Getulio Vargas finally understood the sociological and psychological situation of the former slaves and gave a large part of the Brazilian labour population protection against exploitation from commercial

Though idiotic to express his “theory” on national television, Snyder was only confirming white’s preconceived ignorance. Once again it is statements such as his that play out continuation of beleaguered socioeconomics ranks. Referencing back to The Economist, they approached the topic from Brazil’s standpoint with even more statistical data of the inequalities stating, “In the 2010 census some 51% of Brazilians defined themselves as black or brown. On average, the income of whites is slightly more than double that of black or brown Brazilians, according to IPEA, a government-linked think-tank. It finds that blacks are relatively disadvantaged in their level of education and in their access to health and other services.” (Race in Brazil: Affirming a Divide, 2012) The authors continues to persuade “Brazilians have long argued that blacks are poor only because they are at the bottom of the social pyramid—in other words, that society is stratified by class, not race. But a growing number disagree. In a passionate and sometimes angry debate, black Brazilian activists insist that slavery's legacy of injustice and inequality can only be reversed by affirmative-action policies, of the kind found in the United States.” (Race in Brazil: Affirming a Divide, 2012)

Race in Brazil and United States is similar. As in the United States, in Brazil there are different shades of black. Shades range from a light brown to dark brown. Though the shades of black are the same in both countries, there is one major difference. In the United States if you possess any percentage of African blood you are considered as black, but in Brazil it depends on the color of your skin. In class we were shown twin brothers that applied to attend a public university in Brazil. One of the brothers was accepted, but other was denied because the person reviewing their application deemed the first brother as black and the other brother as white. If this situation occurred in the United States both brothers would be classified as black

The purpose of this paper is to recognize, study and analyze the race relations in Brazil. Race relations are relations between two groups of different races; it is how these two different races connect to each other in their environment. Since Brazil is racially diverse, this study is focused on how Brazilians relate to each other. Throughout the essay, it will become clear that there exists a conflict between two race groups. Afro-Brazilians and White-Brazilians are not connected and though these two groups converse with each other, discrimination still lies within the society. This discrimination has created inequality within the society for Afro-Brazilians. Thus, this paper will not only focus on racism and discrimination that

Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil by Christen A. Smith juxtaposes the images of Brazil’s black populations shown in the media with the ugly reality that they actually face in their everyday lives. From an outside perspective Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, is known as this tropical paradise with their beautiful beaches, beautiful people, and of course Carnaval do Brasil. When you Google images of the Carnaval you will see images of colorful floats, and beautiful women with “perfect bodies” wearing outfits that look like solely mardi gras beads to cover their its and bits. “Brazil, a republic that once declared itself free of racism, is now faced with the reality that racism does exist” (5). Brazil is known as a country with such a diverse and rich culture that everyone from other races live together in harmony. The representation of black bodies within Brazil can be seen with by the performers dancing on floats and with bodies being shot on the cement. Afro-paradise is a paradox. The oppressive economy uses its identity as an exotic, black “jovial playland” for tourists to come and experience the black culture and black people. Glorifying the black culture of Bahia reinforces Brazil’s racially

There are currently 150 million Afro-descendants in Latin America who make up nearly 30 percent of the region’s population (Congressional Research Service, 2005). Out of the fifteen Latin American nations that have recently adapted some sort of multicultural reform, only three give recognize Afro-Latino communities and give them the same rights as indigenous groups (Hooker, 2005). Indigenous groups are more successful than afro-descendent groups in gaining collective rights and development aid from international NGO’s. Collective rights important because are closely related to land rights and can become a tool to fight descrimination .I will attempt to uncover the causes for the discrepancy. This study relies heavily on ethnographic

During the colonial period, from 1500 till 1822, the Portuguese did not promoted their own language in Brazil, in contrast to the French and British colonisers. The French were single minded in the prosecution of their language and they were consicious of a ‘civilizing mission’ (Phillipson 111). Whereas the Portuguese main goals were not related to missionary or civilizing mission, they were primarily interested in wealth and resources. At first they were not planning to actually live in Brazil, therefore language policy was not their first concern. However this changed and more white, Portuguese men settled down in Brazil and due to the lack of European women, married the local women. In present Brazil 38.5% of the population is mulatto (CIA World Factbook), which is a mixture of black and white, as a result of these mixed marriages. The new ‘mulatto’ generation mainly learned to speak the language of the Tupinambá tribe, who were living along the Atlantic Coast