Repositioning Race: Prophetic Research in a Postracial Obama Age

7. “U.S. Blacks are beautiful butBrazilian Blacks are not racist”

7 • “U.S. Blacks are beautiful but Brazilian Blacks are not racist” Brazilian Return Migrants’ Perceptions of U.S. and Brazilian Blacks Tiffany D. Joseph Stony Brook University An influx of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean has significantly changed the ethnoracial composition of the United States in recent decades. As race remains a strong structuring factor in U.S. society, immigrants, especially non-Whites, must learn to navigate U.S. race relations (Landale and Oropesa 2002). Because Brazilians are some of the newest Latin American immigrants to the United States, less is known about them compared to other immigrants (e.g., Mexicans, Dominicans), especially how they negotiate the U.S. racial system. Furthermore , in recent years, comparative research on race relations in the United States and Brazil has increased as U.S. and Brazilian scholars have examined the specific nuances of racial inequality in both countries (Bailey 2009; Guimarães 2001; Marx 1998; Sansone 2003; Telles 2004). Using data from interviews with 49 Brazilians who migrated to the United States and then returned to their homeland of Brazil, this 151 152 • Tiffany D. Joseph chapter explores how these individuals retrospectively negotiated U.S. race relations while in that nation.1 The research question driving this study is, “How do Brazilian returnees interpret U.S. racial stratification while living in the United States?” I argue that returnees relied on their premigration understandings of racial stratification in Brazil, particularly with regard to the marginalized social position and cordial interracial behavior among Brazilians to interpret the social position of U.S. Blacks. Although previous research has examined similarities between Brazilian and U.S. race relations and how Latino immigrants develop an understanding of the U.S. racial system, this study connects both groups of literature by exploring one aspect of Brazilian return migrants’ racial conceptions of the United States. Furthermore, few studies have compared Brazil–U.S. racial frameworks by conducting research with individuals who lived and “experienced race” in three contexts: in Brazil before migrating, while living in the United States as migrants, and in Brazil after U.S. migration. Therefore, this analysis contributes to the literature on Brazilian immigrants and their perceptions of racial stratification and attitudes in Brazil and the United States. Furthermore, by using a novel three-context methodology, this research continues in the prophetic tradition of ensuring a panoramic, triangulated view of racialized experiences. Theoretical Background Race in Brazil and the United States Significant comparative research on racial classification and inequality in Brazil and the United States indicates that the social construction of race developed differently in each society (Andrews 1992; Marx 1998; Telles 2004). The rule of hypodescent, also known as the one-drop rule, has historically been used to racially classify individuals with any Black ancestry as “Black” and greatly influenced U.S. race relations. Informal and formal (legal) enforcement of the one-drop rule over the years yielded the Black-White racial binary, which has been fundamental for establishing racial boundaries and implementing discriminatory policies in the United States (Davis 1991; Feagin 2000). However, in Brazil, the rule of hypodescent has not similarly influenced race relations. Gilberto Freyre’s Masters and Slaves (1933) introduced the concept of racial democracy, which encouraged Brazilians to embrace their African heritage and encouraged racial miscegenation. Using the concept of racial democracy, Freyre argued that because Brazilians were racially “U.S. Blacks are beautiful but Brazilian Blacks are not racist” • 153 mixed there could be no distinct racial groups and thus no basis for racial discrimination in Brazil. However, scholars argue that instead of creating a society with no racial differentiation and discrimination, racial democracy simultaneously yielded a fluid racial classification system and the suppression of overt racial discrimination (Bailey 2009; Dzidzienyo 2005; Marx 1998; Telles 2004). Thus, racial classification has primarily been associated with an individual’s actual skin tone, not indicative of ancestry, and has had little social relevance with regard to racial group formation for Brazilians (Bailey 2009; Feagin 2000; Telles 2004). Brazilians of all skin tones acknowledge having African ancestry and many self-identify as racially mixed, not solely White or Black (Bailey 2009; Telles 2004). Furthermore, having multiracial ancestry has historically not excluded Brazilians from solely self-classifying as White. Due to the concept of racial democracy and being perceived as a place where people of different colors peacefully coexisted, Brazil was considered a twentieth-century racial utopia when compared to...