Abstract
Gilberto Freyre conceptualized racial democracy to describe Brazil's non-racist and harmonious multiracial society in the early 1900s. I suggest there are three views for assessing racial democracy in scholarly literature: achieved Brazil is a multiracial non-racist society; oppressive Brazil is a racist society with strained interracial relations; and aspirational Brazil is a multiracial racist society that aspires to be non-racist. I then argue that exposure to US racial ideals via migration influences Brazilians' perceptions of racial democracy. I demonstrate this using interviews with forty-nine Brazilians who migrated to the USA and returned to Brazil and twenty-four non-migrants who did not migrate, in Governador Valadares, Brazil. My findings indicate that more returnees and non-migrants perceive Brazil as a multiracial racist country, which is consistent with the aspirational view of racial democracy.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
