For several generations a prominent feature of Brazil’s national identity and international reputation has been the notion that the nation is a racial democracy, or a society free of racial discrimination. However, the concept of racial democracy typically has been framed and studied as a social reality or myth, not as a way to understand Brazilian constructs of political democracy. This talk will analyze the emergence of racial democracy in Brazil from 1930 to 1945, focusing on the manner in which the state, blacks, and actors on the left and the right emphasized racial characteristics to advocate for competing visions of political democracy. The talk also will touch upon a few ways that the rhetoric and policies of President Jair Bolsonaro, the so-called “Trump of the Tropics,” continue to resonate with the original formulations of this nationalist ideal in the debates about Brazilian democracy today.
Information about her book, "Shifting the Meaning of Democracy: Race, Politics, and Culture in the United States and Brazil" is available from University of California Press.
Jessica Graham is Associate Professor of History at UC San Diego and she received a Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago. Professor Graham’s research focuses on democracy, racial nationalism, black activism, communism, and fascism in Brazil and the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Her book, Shifting the Meaning of Democracy: Racial Inclusion as a Strategy in Brazil and the United States, has received six honors, including awards from the Latin American Studies Association, the Brazilian Studies Association, and the Conference on Latin American History.
