How Do You Have Affirmative Action in a Country Like Brazil?

Is affirmative action even necessary?  Is it about social class or race?  Or both?  I think part of the issue surrounding this topic is that everyone's version and thoughts around affirmative action is different.  There is no general consesnsus of what the problem is in the first place.  If you speak to the general white upper-class population they will tell you the issue is social class, but if you speak to a person who identifies themselves as black will say it is about race.  Ans as I keep saying, yes there are many many poor whites in Brazil, but there is a very tiny minority of blacks in even the middle class - is this not a racial construct?

The issue of race in the United States is a social construct firmly ingrained in our minds.  This is not the case in Brazil.  There is this myth of a "Racial Democracy" still stuck in the minds of many Brazilians.  And this idea truly is a myth.  Yes, many Brazilians have multi-racial friends and family members, and they hang out in the same bars and listen to the same music.  But take a look around in the universities, or at a more expensive restaurant or shopping center,  and you will see there is a clear racial divide.  As I keep saying in my past posts - there is the saying in Brazil that you cannot tell who is black or white, but ask the doorman or a police office, and they can absolutely tell you.  

I also feel like the idea of a "Racial Democracy" is a generational construct.  While visiting the Getulio Vargas Foundation (basically a think tank), the director of the organization, made some interesting comments.  He basically said, "there is no race in Brazil. I can be white, black, Japanese, Lebonese - I don't know.  There is only one race - the Human Race...and dogs..." (I am not kidding - he said this!, and by the way - he is cleary white.)

Immediately after he said this, three grad students/researchers who were in the room, had a completely opposite opinion.  They said that there is a clear racial divide in certain places.  They confirmed that, yes, people hang out together, but there is no representation of blacks in politics, business offices (unless they are part of the cleaning staff or kitchen, and there are no black soccer coaches.

We also had lunch with some grad students from PUC-Rio (the Pontifical Catholic University of Brazil - a private, non-profit university) and the student at my table made an interesting comment.  He said that he believes there is a race issue in Brazil, and that his parents and grandparents were definitely racist - they make racial jokes, and look down on people who are darker than them.

One last comment that was made that I found quite interesting - Angela Randolpho Paiva, a professor we met at PUC (who I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, and think I might have been brainwashed to become a sociologist just hearing her speak!) told us that when her daughter was young, she said, "I don't even know if I am prejudiced, because I am only surrounded by whites." (Quite an astute comment made by a young child btw.)

Going to leave you with that for now.  Tomorrow we visit our last organization - a for-profit university.  Should be interesting.

Tchau for now.