Together in the Struggle

Upon meeting with students, practitioners and activists at the federal university in Rio, I was struck by the similarities in our affirmative action and social justice struggles. As the students went around the room one by one introducing themselves and their path to the university it was so evident their stories and challenges were so similar to mine and those of many students of color. Hearing their personal stories literally gave me chills. Students from the first class of quotas recounted their experiences being one of the only Black students at their respective schools. They discussed the many ways that they went about financing their education and how difficult it was to get to a place where they could utilize the affirmative action programs.

When it was my turn to speak I conveyed how much I identified with their situation and recalled my own path to higher education and the challenges that I faced. Much to my surprise, the students were shocked by my story. They could not comprehend the racism and challenges that people of color, aside from African Americans, face in the United States. I can still remember the audible gasps from everyone at the conference when we informed them of the six black students in the class of 2008. The looks on their faces were of surprise, confusion, and frustration. It seems that many thought the situation for Black people was much better in the US than it actually is. Although, this number seemed to somewhat deject many of the Brazilian students in a way I feel that it brought us closer together in the struggle for social justice and set the foundation for a very useful exchange. After a day of interaction with the conference participants and hearing so many stories of lack of opportunities and racism I can say with confidence that despite Brazil’s racial democracy, racism is the reality and it still exists in many forms.