White lies

Brazilians are far more dishonest about race than Americans. The "whites" who are the racial villains in Brazil are close relatives of "blacks". That's why grudgingly I admire the North American Anglo racist.

William Javier Nelson

Brazzil is to be commended for its attention placed on race relations. The focus of much of this has been the problem of "white" versus "black" in Brazil. Were it not for the fact that I am a Dominican Latin American, I would let my reaction to these articles run to simple praise and little else. However, I have been dismayed by the dishonesty of Brazilians when it comes to relations between "blacks" and "whites". Just as North Americans have learned a little about their racial illogic from looking at the model of Brazil, so, it is my contention that Brazil can learn something from the North Americans. And the first thing that Brazilians must learn is that, in one important respect, they are far more dishonest about race than US citizens.

Anglo North Americans have always taken hits for their well-documented racism against, you name it, African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Indians, etc. However, they have been the most vilified for their treatment of African Americans ("blacks"). The literature abounds (both fictionally and academically) with descriptions and analyses of North American Anglo racism. Much as indulgent parents are used to hearing from their teenagers that they are "not with it" (and, so, expect to hear this complaint from the younger generation on a regular basis), Anglo North Americans rather expect to hear the cry of "racism!" whenever they encounter persons who are not "white". Standard reactions include such things as denial and/or "conservatism" (which has, for many years in the United States, come to be associated with "anti-black" attitudes and postures).

However, in one respect, they are much more honest than racists in countries like Brazil, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Most Anglo racists of North American (US) culture belittle and berate persons (blacks) with whom they have little ancestral connection. The United States is a country which was initially taken from the "Native Americans" (Indians) by large number of immigrants from Northwestern Europe (Southern and Eastern Europeans came later). Most of these immigrants had little African ancestry. Unlike the Spanish and the Portuguese, these immigrants were inclined to confine their procreative energies to those who were also European. Although a number of researchers have pointed out that miscegenation has certainly existed in the US (Edwin Byron Reuter was one of the first, writing in the early twentieth century), it has never assumed the proportions it has in Latin America.

The recent anthropological work Mestizaje in Ibero-America, by Claudio Esteva-Fabregat is a continuation of a long line of literature chronicling the extensive miscegenation among Iberians (Spanish and Portuguese), Indians and Africans in Latin America. On the other hand, extensive mixture between Caucasians and Africans is just beginning to blossom in the United States and it has not been a significant factor in the life of whites in the US. The recent US Census has disclosed that only one out of a thousand men classified as "white" has a black wife.

Miscegenation, far more of a factor in Latin American life, has had a different historical effect. What the North Americans are beginning to openly discover (race mixture) has been part of the Latin American cultural landscape for centuries. Latin American countries (including Brazil) have therefore had a far more elastic definition of "white". The recent US case of a judge telling a woman who was 63/64 European that she was black would be unheard of in Latin America, especially Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Many Dominicans, Cubans, Brazilians and Venezuelans who call themselves "white" have African or near African grandparents.

The Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina (assassinated in 1961) was African on both sides of his family. Because of the elastic Dominican definition of "white", however, Trujillo was considered as "white" by many Dominicans (he is officially listed as "mulatto" in many US historical accounts). A very close Dominican friend of mine has a father who would be considered a dark-skinned "black" in the US. His olive-skinned wife (who herself has African ancestry) and he have a fine, healthy boy who, in physical appearance, fits the phenotype of a white "crillollo". Cases like this are innumerable in the Dominican Republic. As I have visited Brazil and have studied its culture and people for years, I know that this is commonly the case in Brazil as well. It is also something which can occur in "Indian" countries like Mexico (not normally thought of as having African input).

When I come across Brazilian articles detailing the struggles, trials and tribulations of "blacks", I have two reactions. The first, of course, is one of relief for a belated admission by Brazilians that discrimination and "racial" hatred are possible in the "Racial Paradise". The second, however, is one of bemusement: I know that the "whites" who are the racial villains in Brazil are the first cousins, grandparents, grandsons, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles of these "blacks". I am then forced to (often against my will) admit a bit of grudging admiration for the North American Anglo racist. Although he has no love for blacks, he has implemented a Civil Rights program which has resulted in a great deal of progress for black Americans. Don't misunderstand me--most of the time the Anglo racist's behavior is inexcusable; however he is at least not discriminating against his cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles and brothers.

William Javier Nelson, Ph.D. 24 October 1996 Anglo North Americans have always taken hits for their well-documented racism against, you name it, African Americans, Latinos, etc. However, they have been most vilified for their treatment of African Americans. The literature abounds (both academically and ficationally) with descriptions and analyses of North American Anglo racism. However, in one respect, they are more honest than racists in countries like Brazil, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Most Anglo racists of North American (US) culture berate and belittle persons with whom they have little ancestral connection. For example, most of the US bound European immigrants of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had little African ancestry. Even the well-documented cases of US Southerners having ancestral similarity with African Americans speak of persons who might be 1/16 or 1/32 African or less.

On the other hand, Latin American countries (including Brazil) have had a far more elastic definition of "white". Many Dominicans, Cubans, Brazilians, Venezuelans who call themselves "white" have African (or near African) grandparents. The Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (assassinated in 1961) was African on both sides of his family. Because of the elastic Dominican definition of "white" however, Trujillo was considered as "white" by many Dominicans (he is officially listed as "mulatto" in many historical accounts). A very close Dominican friend of mine has a father who would be considered as a dark-skinned "black" in the US. His olive-skinned wife (who herself has African ancestry) and he have a fine, healthy boy who, in physical appearance, fits the phenotype of a white "crillollo". Cases like these are innumerable in the Dominican Republic. As I have visited Brazil and have studied its culture and people for years, I know that this is commonly the case in Brazil as well.

When I come across articles speaking of "blacks" in countries like the Dominican Republic and Brazil (which are known worldwide as mulatto countries), I sometimes shake my head in amusement because I know that the "whites" who are the villians in these articles are the first cousins, grandparents, grandsons, brothers, aunts and uncles of many of these "blacks". I am then forced to (often against my will) admit a grudging bit of admiration for the North American Anglo racist. The Anglo racist's behavior is inexcusable; however he is at least not discriminating against his cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles and brothers.

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