Reinterpreting Comparative Race Relations

Abstract

lAWith respect to race relations, the Brazilian situation is probably the nearest approach to paradise to be found anywhere in the world, said sociologist Gilberto Freyre (1959: 9). Although this blunt statement by Brazil's noted scholar represents one of his less guarded observations, it does accurately reflect an assessment that has been popular through much of the twentieth century.' Students of race relations in the United States have long been fascinated with the Brazilian case, viewing it as a model of racial democracy that North Americans might imitate. It is little wonder, then, that when the charge of myth emerged from recent studies of racial democracy by respected scholars, the intriguing, striking contrast between the United States and Brazil suddenly appeared blurred and confused.2 Moreover,