Waiting for the Sun: An Account of the (Precarious) Social Situation of the African Descendant Population in Contemporary Brazil

Analysis of the statistical data on the economic and social situation of African descendants in Brazil demonstrates severe racial inequalities, which traditionally have been denied according to the conventional wisdom of the myth of "racial democracy." The absence of reliable statistical d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of black studies 2004-07, Vol.34 (6), p.743-765
Main Author: Paixao, Marcelo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Standards
Afro-Brazilian people
Age groups
Black people
Black White Differences
Blacks
Brazil
Censuses
Countries
Descendants
Geographic regions
Human rights
Life expectancy
Men
Mythology
Population
Population education
Racial Differences
Racial inequalities
Racial Relations
Social Inequality
Society
Sociodemographic Characteristics
Socioeconomic status
Statistical analysis
Statistical Data
White people
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Summary:Analysis of the statistical data on the economic and social situation of African descendants in Brazil demonstrates severe racial inequalities, which traditionally have been denied according to the conventional wisdom of the myth of "racial democracy." The absence of reliable statistical data has fueled the force of this myth; statistics produced recently are the result of pressure by the black movement. The demographic presence of African descendants in the Brazilian population is examined and social indices are broken down by color/race, income levels, educational standards, and health conditions. Specific Human Development Index analysis, disaggregating data for African descendants and whites in Brazil, demonstrates the severity of racial inequality in comparison with other countries of the world and Africa. The black population in Brazil is still characterized by the absence of collective social rights and by the wide gap separating its living standards from those of the Brazilian European descendant population.
ISSN:0021-9347
1552-4566
DOI:10.1177/0021934704264003