Brazilian Racism

Category: Race and Ethnicity

In Brazil, there is an unspoken racism in politics and daily life, despite the idea of racial harmony. Afro-Brazilians generally only obtain menial jobs such as apartment doormen, maids, and other lower service jobs, whereas ilght-skinned Brazilians can obtain higher-paying jobs, especially in the cities. It's common for employment ads to state "good appearance" which means the applicant must be light-skinned. For the exact same job, light-skinned Brazilians are on average page 48% more than black Brazilians.

Black Brazilians are also confined to poor housing in "shantytowns" outside the cities. These houses are full of violence, crime and poor living conditions, as depicted in the movie City of God.
The illiteracy rate for black adults is 36% versus 19% for whites. The average years of formal schooling for those who attend school is 4.2 years for blacks versus 6.2 for whites.

In Brazil, although the president claims the nation exemplifies racial harmony, there is actually a strong sense of racism and prejudice toward Afro-Brazilians.