Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.
…This analysis shows that the term of choice of most respondents in general population and student samples was ‘mixed race’. Based on the criterion of currency amongst the community described by the terms, ‘mixed race’ is clearly the strongest candidate for those contexts where a conceptual basis of ethnic/racial identity or group allegiance or membership is required. Terms invoking two groups – such as ‘mixed parentage’, ‘dual heritage’, and ‘biracial’ – are preferred by very few and ‘mixed origins’ and ‘mixed heritage’ fare little better, although few find them offensive. Others such as ‘multi-ethnic’ and ‘mixed cultural’ have not entered the popular lexicon. Yet concern about the disputed meaning of race – and the historical legacy of the term – make the widespread adoption of ‘mixed race’ unattractive to some sociologists and anthropologists…
“As a daughter of a black mother and a white father, we have here in Brazil this kind of negotiation about identity. When I say “I’m black,” people try to negotiate this telling me: “No, you’re not black, you are mestiço, you are mulata.” And they think they’re doing me a favor not calling me a black woman.” —Ana Maria Gonçalves
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THE CREATION OF The Intercept, and then the Intercept Brasil, was motivated by a core purpose: to provide crucial journalism and commentary that, for whatever reasons, is not being adequately provided to the public. We are especially thrilled to announce the arrival of Ana Maria Gonçalves as our new columnist because her work so powerfully advances that objective.
By virtue of “Um Defeito de Cor” (A Color Defect), her 952-page 2006 novel about the life of an African woman enslaved and brought to Brazil who buys her freedom and sets out in search of her lost son, Gonçalves has become an important voice in global debates on race and culture. The book, which spans eight decades, powerfully connects modern Brazil with its long history of slavery, and — like the main character herself — confronts some of the most difficult, entrenched, and complex interactions between politics, race, culture, and power. The book is now being made into a Roots-like miniseries, to be broadcast next year…
…The role of race in Brazil is fascinating and relevant both in the ways it is unique to Brazil and the ways it is universal. Brazil was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery (1888), and — just as in the U.S. — that historic sin continues to shape institutions and identities in ways society would rather not acknowledge…