Abstract

SKIDMORE, Thomas E.. Fact and myth: discovering a racial problem in Brazil. Cad. Pesqui. [online]. 1991, n.79, pp.5-16. ISSN 0100-1574.

In the country with the largest slave population in the Americas, the myth of racial democracy persists along with unconcern for race relations among official circles and most social scientists. Stressing the inexistence of quantitative data on Brazilian population's multi-racial features through over 50 years after abolition, the paper reviews the debate on race in the present century, as well as the slight impact of dissenters who arose to contest assimilationist, "whitening" ideology. From 1976 on (when at last data on race were collected by PNAD - National household survey) the new facts of hard evidence on racial discrimination have not produced a significant impact upon the elite, the politicians, or the scholarly community - though sufficient bibliographical sources, here inventoried, are available for research. Militants and social scientists are thus summoned to take action against racism if they are to honor their country's commitment to democracy.

Keywords : Relações Raciais; Discriminação Racial; Revisão de Literatura; Tendências de Pesquisa.

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