This art is of the Samba de Coco, a popular song and dance in Afro-Brazilian culture.
From conexaoto.com.br
Afro-Brazilians
What do human rights look like for an Afro-Brazilian?
Afro-Brazilians face a disproportionate level of discrimination and violence due the country’s racist attitudes strong-held since slavery. Racism, police brutality, and high rates of poverty are all common human rights violations against this group. This page explores these violations, and showcases Afro-Brazilian grassroots movements that are working to end these cycles of oppression.
Human Rights overview
Background
Slavery
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Brazil’s history of mistreatment of Afro-descendants originates from the beginning of slavery in the 16th century. Over 3.65 million Africans were captured an enslaved by the Portuguese in Brazil, with the majority being forced to work on sugar plantations, funding Brazil’s economy. Enslaved Africans endured gruesome mistreatment, and through the institution of slavery, negative, racist sentiments about Afro-Brazilians became ingrained in Brazilian national identity. Racist attitudes toward Afro-Brazilians and economic dependence on slavery were the two main factors which led the country to be the last to abolish slavery in the Americas in 1888. Although slavery was formally abolished in 1888, there have been continuous and pervasive human rights violations against blacks in Brazil ever since.
Miscegenation
npr.org
Instead of promoting segregation like we have seen in the United States, the white Brazilian leaders endorsed policies of miscegenation toward the Afro- population. Miscegenation promotes the interbreeding of Afro-Brazilians with European Brazilians with the intended effects of lessening black presence in the nation and strengthening whiteness. Embranquecimento (whitening policy) profoundly affected black populations in Brazil and led to racial colorism, where Brazilians who had lighter skin yielding greater economic advantages then darker Brazilians. As of 1980, there were over 136 terms in the census to avoid racial classification as black, and due to miscegenation, blackness was looked down upon and discriminated against. (source)
Human Rights Violations
Human rights organizations often call attention to broad human rights violations in Brazil, and tend to focus on how the government has been oppressing all its citizens, instead of focusing on how this oppression is harsher for minority groups. According to Open Global Rights, the systematic violence against afro-decedents in Brazil by the government can be classified as genocide. I want to call attention to the human rights violations that are facing Afro-Brazilians at higher and worse rates than white Brazilians.
Imprisonment
Incarceration rates have risen dramatically over recent years in Brazil, with Brazil now 4th in the world for imprisonment. Although mass incarceration effects all Brazilians, it disproportionately effects Afro-Brazilians because over 61% of the prison population is black, and over 40% of the prison population has no formal conviction. Afro-Brazilians are likely to face torture and violence in prison at the hands of their guards, in addition to other inhumane conditions that human rights organizations have not been able to fully determine. Not only is there severe overcrowding in prison, but also there are threats and countless victims of gang violence. Afro-Brazilians face all of these human rights violations at much higher rates than white Brazilians. (source)
Police Brutality
Afro-Brazilians are twice as likely to be killed by police than whites in Rio de Janeiro. Police killings are a popular occurrence against the black population in Brazil, since the police receive rewards by the number of “criminals” they kill. Brazilian police formed “extermination groups” with the purpose of killing black Brazilians, and many members of these groups are in leadership positions in the country’s police force. Attention to police brutality has skyrocketed since the Candelária massacre in 1993 where off-duty police officers killed 8 young black boys with no repercussions. Black women are also common targets of these killings, and if you click the link here, you can read stories about some women who have been victims of the cruel police exterminations. The police have killed a record high number of people, 1,444, this past year, and although many human rights organizations do not go into detail on race, it is easy to assume that most of the killings were targeted at Afro-Brazilians. (source)
Watch this video from Human Rights Watch about police brutality against Afro-Brazilians
Economic Burdens
There is striking economic inequality in Brazil, and race is one of the leading factors that results in unfair economic burdens. As we saw during the period where miscegenation was an enforced policy, lighter skin yielded more economic opportunity. This policy, although no longer in place, still effects Afro-Brazilians because there have been limited reparations and black people are still at an extreme disadvantage. 77.6% of black women in São Paulo were jobless or in uncertain positions in 2000. Also, only 4.5% of black men are in leadership positions at their jobs in comparison to 20.5% of white men. (source)
Social Movements
Through learning about all of these human rights violations, one might be discouraged or hopeless on the prospect of ending these systemic injustices. But, looking at the social movements in Brazil led by Afro-Brazilians, we can see how they have and continue to mobilize to fight for their rights and stand up for themselves. It is important to recognize the grassroots movements in Brazil that aim toward promoting equality and justice for Afro-Brazilians because it showcases how powerful and successful groups can be within their own nation when they work hard for a cause.
Unified Black Movement
The Movimiento Negro Unificado (MNU) is the largest black social movement in Brazil, originating from the international advocacy for civil rights in the 70s. MNU is a collection of over 600 organizations and advocacy groups that promote Afro-Brazilian success and rights in the nation. One important landmark from MNU was that they got the government to declare November 20th as National Black Consciousness Day to formally recognize a positive black collective identity. Currently, MNU focuses on education so that the future generations can have autonomy and pride in their race. (source)
Click this image to learn more about the Unified Black Movement and be able to order this book by David Covin
Afro-Brazilian Businesses
Watch this video to learn about how Afro-Brazilians are working to end cycles of poverty and lift one another up through running and supporting black businesses
Looking Forward
Brazil’s violations against their Afro-descendants echo similar violations in many countries throughout the world. For example, the United States abuses African-American rights in almost identical ways as Brazil with over-incarceration of blacks and police brutality. A way to help end these human rights violations would be to focus on what you can do locally within your own community. Promoting local human rights helps promote these human rights everywhere and set examples in the international community.
You can also donate to the Institute of Race, Equality, and Human Rights to help fund research and the promotion of Human Rights in Brazil.
Background image: https://hiveminer.com/Tags/batucada%2Csalvador