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Black in Brazil

RACIAL UNEQUALITIES INDICATORS
Some data which show the economic segregation of black people in Brazil.
Source: IETS - Institute for Labor and Social Studies, a non-profit, civil society organization that works to generate and disseminate information from a variety of fields to those involved in applied research and public policy.
IETS analyses the data collected by IBGE to produce graphs, charts and tables. The next page, in particular, is dedicated to data which indicate the racial unequalities in Brazil. Each of the link on the right hand column describes an unequality indicator; below, some of these indicators are commented.

The next graph plots the correlation between income versus proportion of black people (if a password is required to access the page, please go to the unequalities menu page and click on the link reading %negros in the right hand column) in several districts of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is very clear to see that, as the percentage of black diminishes, the average income increases; two graphs were plotted, one of them eliminates abnormal aglomerates, but the conclusions are the same. As a curiosity fact: the last nominated district to the right, with highest proportion of black and lowest income, is Cidade de Deus, which was subject of the recent award winning movie City of God.

The next link leads to tables which picture the black people in the work market (if a password is required to access the page, please go to the unequalities menu page and click on the link reading Posição (raça) in the right hand column), compared to non-black and compared to the situation of ten years ago; the samples covered the entire country. The study analyses the possession of Carteira de Trabalho, or Working ID, the legal way to formalize a labor contract in Brazil. Conclusions of the analysis:

the first table shows that, in 2002, more black (28.9%) worked without papers than non-black (20.5%); both groups had an increase, compared to ten years ago, reflex of a worsening in the economic scenario

the second table shows that more black work on their own business (23.3%) than non-black (21.4%); "own business" usually means selling sandwich on the beach or doing cheap jobs in the neighbourhoods; again, the bad economy forced more people (black and non-black who lost their jobs) to run a business, compared to ten years earlier

table three, coherent with table one, indicates that more non-black people work with legal papers than black people

table four shows the percentage of black in the civil service. It is interesting to notice that the gap between black (5.4%) and non-black (7.2%) is not big, and is narrower than ten years ago. A very reasonable explanation is that the admission into the civil service is impersonal; all applicants are submitted to the same objective tests, and the best ranked are employed.

table five shows that the percentage of employers is higher among non-black (5.7%) than black (2.4%)

table six shows that more black people work without pay (13.3%) than non-black (10.0%); it's tipically the case of people working in familiar "businesses"

The next tables show the correlation between salaries and years attending school (if a password is required to access the page, please go to the unequalities menu page and click on the link reading Trabalho e educação in the right hand column).
Not surprisingly, the tables indicate that:

unemployment rate is higher among blacks (10.3%) than among non-blacks (8.1%); both groups saw increase in unemployment over the past ten days

there are many more illiterate adults among blacks (17.2%) than non-blacks (7.5%); both groups are decreasing illiteracy, but black are going a bit faster

illiteracy among children is higher among black (5.6%) than non-black (2.0%); illiteracy of children is much lower than among adults; illiteracy of black children is decreasing faster than among non-black children

average time of school attendance is higher for non-black (7,0 years) than among black (4,9 years); both groups have a noticeable improvement compared to ten years ago

the average salary of non-black (697) is much higher than of black (341)

LAWS
Law nr. 10639 promulgated in Jan. 9th 2003. All schools in Brazil of elementary and intermediary levels, public or private, must include "Afro-Brazilian History and Culture" as a subject to students

ACHIEVEMENTS
Blacks win the fight against discrimination (in Portuguese only)
On issue nr. 1789, January 2004, the magazine IstoÉ published an article about the black Brazilians gaining space in Brazilian society, particularly in the Television.
For the first time ever, the main female character of the nightly main soapbox of TV Globo will be played by a black actress, Taís Araújo; this soapbox is a Brazilian institution; it's one of the most watched Brazilian programs, with influence on the topics that popular Brazilians will be discussing next day. The article mentions the fact that, differently from the roles of maiden, baby sitter or similiars usually offered to black, this time mrs. Araújo will be a middle class worker who gets envolved with a rich white man and his circle.
Last year, also for the first time ever, THE most watched Brazilian program, Jornal Nacional (the nightly news of TV Globo), was presented by a black man. Also, one of the winners of the Elite models contest was a young black girl, Rojane Fradique.

For the first time in History, a black is nominated to the Supreme Court: Joaquim Barbosa

»Capoeira. Important heritage of black culture in Brazil.

Recommended Sites
Revista Raça (Magazine Race - in Portuguese only). A magazine entirely dedicated to the black market. Expresses points of view of the black middle class in Brazil.

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