Complex Complexion: Musings on Race in Brazil

From a Discussion about race with a 25 yr old Brazilian woman:

Janile: I am branca [white]. But because I have mixed ancestry and my skin isn’t so white I am really morena [brown/mixed]. But because my skin is not so dark I am considered white.

Me: what am I?

Janile: You are negra but no one would call you negra. Black people take offense to being called negro. It isn’t offensive, it is a racial category but all black people call themselves moreno, not negro. I think they should call themselves negro because that’s what they are.


From a discussion with Pastor about race:

Pastor: what is the black to white ratio in your church at home?

Tiffany: it is 99.999 % black. What is it at your church?

Pastor: Ehh, everybody is mixed.




Race is a very complex subject in Brazil; it is almost incomprehensible. It is difficult for me to understand the complexities of race in Brazil because race in the United States is very objective. In the US, during the slave era and immediately following, laws were made to keep European Colonists (and their descendents) from mixing with the slaves (and their descendants). Of course, mixing did take place and laws were made to regulate the lives of those of mixed ancestry, referred to by many as “the one drop rule.” Law dictated that anyone with any definable or discernable African ancestry was considered black, and thus subject to the oppression and subjugation reserved for black people. No matter how light you were, if you descended from black people, you were black. This division in the US society birthed the black culture. The black culture extends far beyond skin color. When I say, “I am black” I am not just talking about my complexion. I am talking about an identity with a community of people with a shared history.
But in Brazil it is different. First, Brazilians classify race differently than Americans. There are three commonly used terms to talk about race: “Bronco” for white, “Moreno” for brown or mixed, and “Negro” for black (excluding the terms for people of Indigenous “Indios” or Asian descent “Pardo” which together make up less than 1% of the population*). Classifying race is done by the color of skin, rather than ancestry. A person with two black parents could be classified as white. As my conversation with the Brazilian woman suggests, race classification is very fluid. Second, racial mixing is very common. Unlike in the US, racial mixing is considered a good practice. Because intermixing is a common and a generally accepted practice, many Brazilians assert that race does not exist (as seen from the conversation with the Pastor). The statistics that haunt Brazil would scream the contrary. The majority of the poor in Brazil are nonwhite, and, the majority of those who are educated are white.* The question I have been pondering is: how is it that race does not exist but racism does?
Race does exist in Brazil. I, and my colleagues, have experienced race while being here in Brazil. When we walk down the street, our beautiful dark skin seems to glow, attracting all of the eyes of passersby, as if we were mythical creatures read about only in books but never seen in real life. The first question many people ask upon meeting us is, “Are you from Bahia?” Bahia is a state that has a high concentration of black people. When we were in a small village, little children followed us around making African tribal sounds because they assumed we were from Africa. I can attest to the fact that race does exist. Moreover, racism is an issue. I have seen, with my own eyes, the positive correlation between dark skin and poverty. My goal is to develop the vocabulary to have a serious conversation with the Pastor about race in Brazil.

* Telles, Edward. Race In Another America: The Significance of Skin Color in Brazil. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2004.