Theme Of Intolerance In Brazil

The roots of intolerance: Brazil, a structurally racist country?

I was in a lecture at my school. The theme was “Racism and Religious Intolerance in Brazil”. A black movement activist was participating in this talk and asked: "Who here thinks that Brazil is a racist country"? Almost everyone in the auditorium raised their hands, only one boy did not raise his hand, and this caused some discomfort to most of those present at that lecture, and I include myself in that as well, I was feeling nervous by that, how can a person think that a country that has lived less than ¼ of its history free from slavery is not a racist country? Until I heard a new question: "Who here considers themselves racist?" Only three students from the 120 presents in

Here, racial conflict developed in a different way. Brazil lived more than 300 years of its history after the "discovery" in a period of slavery. And yet, after the abolition of slavery, blacks continued to be discriminated by their colour. Reflecting on this situation, I just realised the racism present in Brazil is one of the worst types of prejudice: the prejudice of having prejudice. Our racism here is institutionalised, it is a veiled racism, it is a racism considered taboo. Instead of discussing racism and fighting against it, our society began to fight against the idea that racism exists, as it would be much easier than dealing with the real problem. This makes me very sad about my country! Instead of questioning, it seems easier to forget that the problem exists, or simply give up the fight. Today’s we even ask ourselves more about the social ills that afflict us, but unfortunately, we are going through a dark period in which people who fight for a more just and egalitarian society are having their voices

I study in one of the best public schools of my country, and I see that racism is very present in education. There are a few blacks in my school, in my class of 40 students, including me, only four are black. I have 24 teachers, and only two are black. These numbers worry me, even more, when we leave the classroom: For every 100-people murdered in Brazil, 71 are black. About 75 percent of the population of Brazilian favelas are black, and this population is often idealised or demonised. I do not think there is any glamour in waking up at three in the morning, leaving your children with other people, crossing the city to go to work and take care of other children who will be taught to be racists most of the times. Yes, no one is born racist, racism is taught from a very early