Brazil and the United States: Ethnic Groups Relations Research Paper

Introduction

The following essay is concerned with an evaluation of cultures and behaviors with respect to ethnic background and conflicts in Brazil. With this regard, the essay examines the ethnic inequality, ethnic stratification, tools of dominance, patterns of ethnic relations and also explains measures towards building a new society.Also; the essay explains the similarities as well as differences of ethnic backgrounds and conflicts in Brazil and United States.However, it is important to first determine what ethnic background and conflicts entails.

Ethnicity entails the act through which a group of people in the society are rejected and thus not given much attention with regards to the society’s on-goings as a result of their cultural backgrounds. The culture of Brazil is composed of both the whites as well as the blacks from Europe and Africa respectively.

Ethnicity in Brazil is associated with violence and this in turn has the effect of causing the economic as well as social prgrammes to collapse. Many people in Brazil are excluded in the society and thus denied the chance to participate fully economically, socially and politically as a result of their culture or otherwise due to their racial characteristics.

There has been no other nation in the larger South American continent that has cultural as well as ethnic migrations than Brazil. Brazil is thus a unique country in that it has accommodated both the whites as well as the blacks from various cultural backgrounds who continue to live together. The statistical figures in Brazil indicates that the whites forms the majority of the population with more than 50 %.The blacks as well as the Indians and Asians represents a small proportion of the population (Bailey,2009,P.6-10).

Dimensions of ethnic inequality in Brazil

There is high income inequality in Brazil and this makes it to be one of the countries in the world that has a high gap between the poor and the rich. The high income inequality is as a result of the racial discrimination i.e. One is being provided with an opportunity to serve based with his or her skin color. Ethnic inequality in Brazil usually exists in two dimensions.Firstly; the inequality is evident as a result of the economic growth amongst the various sections of the nation.

Secondly, the ethnic inequality is evident due to the wide gap between the various racial groups in the country. The two dimensions of ethnic inequality in Brazil interrelated.The regional inequality is as a result of the groups’ migration to the county. The migration of the communities to Brazil brought about the emergence of industries as well urban centers.

The whites who are believed to have originated from Germany, Italy and Poland settled in the South as a result of presence of gold and diamond deposits and also because of the fertile land for agriculture and pastoralism.The Asian communities i.e. Japanese settled in South as well a southeast.The Africans are believed to have migrated to Brazil following the slave trade and they settled in Northeast where they were forced to work in the rubber plantations by their masters.

Thus,the South as well as Southeast grew to become major farming as well as trade hubs whereas the North as well as the Northeast region of Brazil was not successful as far as the economic growth is concerned. The migration patterns were thus responsible for the ethnic inequality in Brazil. Thus, many whites live in the Southern region whereas a large percentage of the blacks live in Northern region.

On the other hand, the second dimensions with regards to ethnic inequity in Brazil are a bit subtle. Ethnic inequality manifests itself in that the white who forms the majority of the Brazilian population leads a better life as compared with the blacks. The whites for instance have access to good education and better jobs. Social exclusion in Brazil is not open but it usually occurs in faint forms. The lack of proper education among the Afro-Brazilians denies them job opportunities and hence making them to remain being poor.

For instance, prestigious learning institutions are situated in the Southern region of Brazil that is mostly inhibited by the whites. The blacks as well as other non-white groups are not easily admitted to federal universities as a due to their skin color. The education system in Brazil is designed in a manner that it denies the children from poor families from pursuing further education.

Usually,children from poor background attends public schools which have no adequate learning facilities implying that they do not performs well to guarantee them a place in the federal universities. On the other hand, the whites attends private schools which have better learning facilities and thus they are able to perform well and join the federal universities.

The inequalities with regards to education has thus brought about unfair distribution of wealth in the country. The ability to earn high income is usually dependent on the educational qualifications and therefore, children from poor families are locked out of the labor market (Marger, 2008, P.24-36).

Ethnic Stratification: Majority and Minority in Brazil

Ethnic stratification entails a means through which some groups of people usually the majority benefits more from the society’s resources as a result of their ethnicity. Ethnic stratification in Brazil arises as a result of unfair distribution of resources, employment opportunities and differential with regards to power.

With regards to resources, the whites are the main beneficiary of the Brazils scarce resources. The whites who forms the majority of the population in Brazil holds the view that their culture is more superior as compared to those of the blacks, Japanese and Indians and hence continues to enjoy the larger share of the Brazilian resources.

The minority group in Brazil is however regarded as inferior and therefore not given higher positions of the government. In Brazil, power is vested in the majority group. The whites thus occupy high positions of government and they mostly make decisions that serve their interests only (Ford, 1974, P.8).

Tools of Dominance: Prejudice and Discrimination in Brazil

Racial prejudice as well as discrimination is very common in Brazil and it is most evident in such spheres as the job market. The blacks and other non whites who form the minority are the main victims of discrimination and prejudice. Their rights are thus violated and are constantly harassed by the police. These minority groups usually earn less income as compared to the whites.

The media also discriminates the blacks and other non whites in that most advertisements usually describes that Brazil is a country of the whites despite the fact that the nonwhites forms a sizeable percentage of the total population. The whites also form the majority of the Brazilians’ elites and this implies that the Afro-Brazilians are poorly represented in the Brazilians institutions of higher learning such as colleges and universities. The Afro-Brazilians are not easily found in federal as well as private Universities of Brazil.

The University admissions in Brazil are usually based on the virtue of ones skin color. The prejudice as well as racial discrimination situation in Brazil is also a barrier with regards to the economic development as well as democracy in the country. The blacks and other non whites are exposed to massive police violence such as numerous searches. In Brazil, racial discrimination as well as prejudice also occurs in politics whereby, the number of black congressmen us usually low as compared to the number of congressmen who are whites.

With regards to population, the females who are black are usually more discriminated as compared to the males. The black women in Brazil suffer in that they are the majority breadwinners in their families. The non-white women earns meager salaries as compared to the white women irregardless of their education and work experience.

Thus,the number of whites withy low income brackets is very low as compared to the number of non-whites with low income levels. The unharmonious mix is thus responsible for abusing the minority’s human rights (The University of Michigan, 2009, P. 27).

Patterns of ethnic relations in Brazil

There are different ethnic relations patterns in Brazil and they include assimilation and extermination. Assimilation in Brazil occurs in that, the blacks and other minority groups are simply not regarded and thus they are incorporated into the larger majority group.Thus, the culture of the minority group is thus assimilated into that of the majority group. The Afro-Brazilians are thus forced to abandon their culture and to adopt the culture of the whites. The inbreeding has been the main factor that has facilitated cultural assimilation in Brazil.

With regards to extermination, the minority groups in Brazil have been victims of genocide by the whites. The whites have economic interests especially in the Southern part of Brazil and they therefore wiped out the Indians who are believed to have settled in that region (Marger, 2008, P.24-36).

Towards building a new society: Stability and change

In the last decade, there have been dramatic changes that have occurred in Brazil with regards to race relations. For instance, the government officials have openly acknowledged the increase in racial prejudice as well as discrimination. Due to these, there have been measures that have been taken so as to address the shortcomings as far as the Afro-Brazilians social and economic life is concerned. Towards building a new society that does not discriminate anyone on basis of his or her skin color, affirmative action has been sought.

Affirmative action entails the special measures that are designed so as to bring about equality and to abolish the racial gaps that exist between two or more groups of people. The strategies that are applied in affirmative action involve certain special actions that are directed upon the disadvantaged groups so as to be on the same level with the majority group. The affirmative action strategies are usually temporary in that, they are stopped if the objectives are fulfilled.

In Brazil, the affirmative action strategies that can be adopted so as to curb the issue of ethnicity includes the following; ensuring that there is a higher number of the blacks and other minority groups of people in those sectors that were previously dominated by the whites. This should be encouraged even if it implies employing less qualified non whites so as to ensure that there is equal representation.

There should be special admission criteria into the federal universities so as to ensure that students from poor families are offered an opportunity to pursue their career goals. This is crucial since the non-whites will be able to compete on a level playing field with the whites as far as the job market is concerned. In recent years, a high number of Brazilian public institutions of higher learning have put up affirmative action measures that are aimed at ensuring that students from the poor families are not locked out of the educational system.

The measures that have been adopted includes giving quotas to those students from public secondary schools and also ensuring that there is a high admission of black students.Also,some institutions usually gives out bonus points on students who comes from poor families so as to ensure that they are able to secure a place in the public universities.

These measures are thus important since they will ensure that the minority groups competes fairly with the majority groups as far as those fields such as engineering, medicine e.t.c.Market concerned. The measures should also include special scholarships for students from underprivileged families so that they can pursue further their education.

Also, public information regarding racial discrimination should be made so as to respond to stereotypes that causes harm to the minority group. Stereotypes have the effect of providing false images on certain groups of people and therefore an awareness campaign should be started so as to educate the public on the adverse effects of racial discrimination as well as prejudice.

There should also be counseling services for both the majority groups i.e. the whites as well as the minority groups i.e. the non-whites so that both can understand the realities that are emerging (Reichmann, 1999, P.33-37).

Similarities and Differences with the United States

In both the United States and Brazil, racial discrimination affects the productivity of people and hence the economic growth as well as democracy of those who are being discriminated. Racial discrimination in both countries denies people equal employment opportunities.In both countries, the blacks are the victims of racial discrimination by the whites. Powerful white people are usually the problem as far as discrimination is concerned in both countries.

In both cases, the blacks and other minority groups are not allowed to attain certain employment levels. The whites usually perpetrate discrimination in the workplaces and this causes work related stress unto the blacks. In both countries, hidden discrimination occurs in that most corporations are usually dominated by the whites and the number of black people as well as people of different color is very few. This thus forces the black people to assimilate in accordance with the white people’s styles and norms.

There is persistent racial discrimination withy regards to educational matters in both countries. The whites perform well and thus their graduation rates are very high as compared to those of the blacks.

Educational success usually plays an important role as far as the labor market is concerned and therefore, the whites are usually better placed to find jobs more easily as compared to the blacks and other minority groups. In countries competitive workplaces, a large number of good posts that have the potential of upward mobility are usually reserved for persons who have a university degree (Daniel, 2007, P.54).

On the other hand, racial discrimination in United States is intense as compared with the case of Brazil. In the U.S.The whites indulge themselves in racism openly and they allow racial discrimination to happen in the worksites. In Brazil, the kind of racial discrimination is usually more subtle i.e. it is very hard to notice (Bankston, 2000, P.67).

Conclusion

The racial discrimination acts has the effects of causing psychological as well as physical harm unto those who are being discriminated. There is needed to come up with policies that are aimed at reducing ethnicity in Brazil. This will help in avoiding the negative effects of ethnicity such as high poverty level which arises when qualified people are denied chances as a result of their ethnic background and other many effects. Stiff actions should also be taken on the institutions that promotes ethnic divide.

Reference List

Bailey, S. (2009).Legacies of race: identities, attitudes, and politics in Brazil. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Bankston, C. (2000).Racial and Ethnic Relations in America: Politics and racial. New Jersey: Salem Press.

Daniel. (2007). Race and Multiracialism in Brazil and the United States: Converging Paths? Penslavannia: Penn State Press.

Ford, D. (1974).Tradition and change in four societies: an inquiry approach. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Marger, M. (2008).Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. Stamford: Cengage Learning

Reichmann, H. (1999). Race in contemporary Brazil: from indifference to Inequality. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press.

The University of Michigan. (2009). Prejudice: issues in Third World theologies. Michigan: Gurukul Summer Institute, Chennai Gurukul Lutheran Theological College & Research Institute.