Lindsey Stobaugh

History 344 Race and Ethnicity in Latin America

Dr. Enrique Cotelo
28 November 2016
Edward E. Telles. Race in Another America: The Significance of Skin Color in Brazil. Princeton,
Princeton University Press, 2004.

Brazilians have a very distinct way of thinking about race, and their history of racial

mixing and denial of racism has resulted in complex racial relations within the country.

According to Edward Telles, in the late nineteenth century the idea of white supremacy prevailed

and was reinforced by scientific racism (26). There had previously been decades of racial mixing

in Brazil, which resulted in a large mixed population. During the era of scientific racism,

however, many European scientists saw the practice of racial mixing as the source of

degeneration, and pointed to Brazil as evidence (26). Telles states that because of their history of

miscegenation, Brazilian scientists began to steer away from the European idea of eugenics and

promote the neo-Lamarckian concept of eugenics. This concept emphasized the idea that a

whiter society could be developed through miscegenation (28).

In the 1930s, the ideas of Gilberto Freyre became very influential and Brazilians began to

take pride in their history of racial mixing. Freyre was the source of the widespread and long

lasting idea of a racial democracy within Brazil (34). As a result of his writings, Brazilians

sought to demonstrate their superior race relations to the blatantly racist United States by

pointing to their racial democracy as proof that racism did not exist in their country. However,

the idea of a racial democracy began to lose clout in the late twentieth century in Brazil, and the

previously unacknowledged racial hierarchy began to gain recognition (46). Telles states the

reason for this newfound acknowledgement of racial inequality was due to the elimination of

military power and the promotion of democracy in the Brazilian government. This shift in

government structure allowed the emergence of organizations with political intent, including the
blacks of Brazil who had endured a significant amount of discrimination that had previously

been denied by the Brazilian population and authorities (47).

Throughout his book, Telles analyzes two prominent arguments in the study of

Brazilian racial relations, which he breaks into two separate categories. Telles states the first

category of scholars looked at social interactions and promoted racial democracy, while the

second emphasized the existence of racism (8). Telles carried out his analysis in various ways,

such as through census records and national survey data provided by the Instituto Brasileiro de

Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE). He also employed the use of independent surveys as well as

personal experience in the Ford Foundations Brazil office for human rights (18). Telles states

that the official data from the IBGE separates racial categories into white, brown, and black, and

are fluid and allow for a large amount of overlap, unlike other countries that strictly separate race

colors. The wider population of Brazil uses separate terms than the census classifications to

define themselves and others, such as moreno, which is a vague term, as well as terms used by

the members of the black-movement, such as negro (81).

This wide range of terms contributes to the uniqueness of Brazils obscure racial

classification system. Telles explains that separation of races never occurred in Brazil due to the

practice of creating a whiter population through mixing, which allowed for self-declaration of

ones color (80). As a result, in individual in Brazil can be self-classified as one race while

simultaneously classified as a different race by someone else, which also allows for a wider

acceptance of who is considered white, brown, or black. Brazils history of mixing has also lead

to a racial hierarchy in which browns are superior to blacks, whereas in the U.S. blacks and

mixed race persons are classified into one group (85). There are incentives for people to identify

with lighter skin colors in Brazil because these categories typically receive less racial

discrimination and inequality. Racial inequality can be contributed to many factors, but education
is perhaps the most important because it can affect other factors of racial inequality, such as

income (138). Education in Brazil largely favors whites because funding for primary schools is

dismissed in poor areas where majority nonwhite populations reside (125). Whites are also more

likely than browns or blacks to gain college-level education, which prevents many nonwhites

from attaining higher paying occupations that require sufficient education. Telles argues that the

inequality in education has lead to the increasing income gap between whites and nonwhites in

Brazil, which has in turn lead to a greater amount of racial inequality within the country (221).

As a result of the highly unequal education system, nonwhites in Brazil find it difficult to

enter the middle class. Telles states that Brazilians use the concept of race to maintain a class

hierarchy that benefits whites while suppressing nonwhites (222). However, there are practices

that nonwhites may use to avoid this inequality. One such practice is marrying up, through which

nonwhites marry someone with a lighter skin tone in order to improve their status (189). These

inequalities can also be addressed through affirmative action. Telles argues that Brazil needs to

implement policies that recognize race in order to be effective (257). He states that the countrys

attempt at class reconciliation covers up the fundamental issue of racism, and that racial issues

need to be addressed. If race is addressed and policies are introduced that acknowledge race,

there would be clarification about who would receive the benefits of these policies (262). Telles

argues that the deep racial inequalities in Brazil are just one consequence of the racial democracy

ideology that was so widely accepted among the population. The fact that people denied the

existence of racism reinforced the underlying discrimination within the country, and this

inequality has only recently been acknowledged due to the growing efforts of blacks in Brazil

(237).