Whitening a Nation to Enlighten a Nation: Shattering the Myth of Race in Brazil

Written By Nicole Rousseau, PhD

This chapter, part of Pictures and Mirrors: Race and Ethnicity in Brazil and the United States (2009), critically examines Brazil’s long-standing ideology of racial whitening (branqueamento) and its role in shaping the country’s self-image as a “racial democracy.”

This chapter offers an analysis of the ongoing conversation of race relations throughout the Black Diaspora, particularly as it relates to Afro-Brazilians in São Paulo, Brazil. Many theorists assert that Brazil’s nationally endorsed miscegenation policy fosters a Brazilian identity with no distinctive “Black” or “Afro” race.  As such, it is argued that Brazil is not besieged by the racial stratification, institutional racism, or discrimination that plagues other nations.  This chapter argues that miscegenation policy has in no way resolved the issues of race and race relations in Brazil.  The lived experience of Blacks in São Paulo, Brazil is evidence that racist ideologies persist. ACCESS FULL TEXT HERE

Nicole Rousseau, PhD

Dr. Nicole Rousseau is a historical sociologist whose work examines how social rhetoric, media, and institutional structures shape identity, power, and lived experience.

She is the author of Black Woman’s Burden: Commodifying Black Reproduction and has published extensively on Black feminist thought, historical womanist theory, and structural inequality.

Dr. Rousseau has led research initiatives, taught at the university level, and worked with organizations to translate sociological insight into program strategy and institutional change.

She is also the host of The Architecture of Meaning, a podcast extending her research into a public-facing exploration of narrative, media, and power.

https://nicolerousseauphd.com
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