Thursday, March 20, 2008

It doesn’t only matter if you’re black or white

       Over the course of the semester our class has been looking at the ways in which race and gender, among other things, intersect to create systems of discrimination and racism.  Often, as is the case in the United States, the black/white binary becomes a focal point in the discussion of issues and remedies.  Not to say that issues affecting other races aren’t discussed, but often they are muddled together as the “middle” category, and the focal point remains the same.  Naively, I was surprised to experience a similar binary ideology in Brazil, where the predominant nationalism encompasses a colorblind vision of Brazilian people, and opponents to the myth of racial democracy promote recognition of the black/white binary.  As a Latina with roots in Central America, my instinct has always been to view South American people as Latinos. 

            During our visit yesterday at UERJ with representatives from Educafro, we had a discussion with students from the first class of entering quotistas, all whom will be graduating soon.  During our conversation, we discussed issues facing Afro-Brazilians in education, and particularly interesting was that these were first hand experiences of Afro-Brazilian students, currently in the education system.  When the students began to ask us questions about discrimination in the United States, they were only interested in hearing about discrimination experienced by African Americans.  Being a Latina in the U.S. who has experienced discrimination, and has witnessed discrimination among various groups, I couldn’t help but feel like discrimination among other groups has never been part of the conversation.  I interjected this fact into the conversation because I feel that it is an important part of the big picture in the U.S., and also that it is necessary to understand when working comparatively to develop solutions. 

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