Review of Explaining Brazil - Racial Relations in Brazil

Racial Relations in Brazil

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“Very interesting. I love hearing about Brazil. I’m from the EUA, but lived in Brazil 1967-69. That was when the Civil Rights movement was going strong at home. I lived in a small town in the northeast of Brazil. There, racial difference seemed to be minimal. Everyone knew each other and worked together. I guess that perhaps the poorest families might have been more black than white, but almost everyone was poor, so it was hardly noticable. I taught in a ginasio that had only been established 3 years before I arrived. Most of my students were ages 12-18, but a few were adults who had never had the opportunity to attend high school. The town had few opportunities for jobs. There were a few shops and the Bank of Brazil, and schools, but no large businesses or industry. I worried that my students would end up running their family farms or shops, but there weren’t enough of those to employ everyone. But, I later discovered that, somehow, almost everyone managed to go to another city to attend a colegio and most went on to university. Whether black or white, they became doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, business owners, engineers, social workers, professors...... Three sisters became agronomists. One woman was the 1st to work for the Bank of Brazil. She retired and went to law school. When I lived there, there were some powerful women in government jobs. One was the state Minister of Education, who made some dramatic changes in the elementary educational system. And there were also many blacks I in powerful positions. I saw many families of mixed races, which seemed to help overcome racial divides. In a small town, where the choice of mates is limited, people might be more willing to marry outside of their own race. But when I visited in 2011, in most cities, most of the street vendors were black and those on magazine covers were white. Most of those driving cars were white, those who still had horse or mule-drawn carts were black. I admit I was rather disappointed to see that things in Brazil looked more segregated than I expected after 40+ years had passed. I still love Brazil and it’s culture. As I am rather old now, my next trip there will probably be my last.”

CJ_proartz via Apple Podcasts · United States of America · 05/21/18

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