A reflection on the relationship between racism and xenophobia in Brazil
Black Awareness Day in Brazil is celebrated on November 20, a day that according to historical sources and documents[1] would have been the date of death of the symbol of black resistance Zumbi dos Palmares. Conceived by the black movement to celebrate blackness and the resistance of enslaved black peoples and their descendants, November 20th is a time to reflect on the importance of the influence of black peoples on Brazilian culture and on the events that led to the establishment of this date.
Brazil's colonial past has left deep scars in our social memory. Even today, black people are victims of violence and racism, and are discredited and perceived as inferior. This imaginary that black people are inferior also reverberates in the reception and welcoming of migrants. People coming from African countries and Caribbean countries such as Haiti, for example, receive discriminatory treatment and are victims of insults and racist comments because of their origin and racial phenotype.
The article “Xeno-racism or racialized xenophobia? Problematizing selective hospitality to foreigners in Brazil” written by Deivison Mendes Faustino and Leila Maria de Oliveira, published in the REMHU - Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Mobility, analyzes the relationship between xenophobia and racism in Brazil.
The authors begin the article by problematizing the concept of Xeno-racism, demonstrating how this concept has some flaws when it comes to understanding the contexts of colonized countries that developed their society based on a slave logic, as is the case in Brazil. In these societies, racialization based on phenotype influences the treatment of various groups of incoming migrants (Faustino, Oliveira, 2021).
The hospitality offered to foreigners in Brazil is marked by a selectivity influenced by our historical past. During the post-abolition period, migration policies favoured migratory flows of Europeans with the aim of “whitening” the country, reflecting a racialized and hierarchical view of society. In this sense, the treatment given to European migrants, who are often associated with civilization, culture and development, is different from that given to migrants from African countries or other countries in the global South.
November 20, in addition to celebrating the power, strength and influence of blackness in our country, also provokes reflection on our actions as a society to combat and confront racism. Understanding how racialization influences our thoughts and actions helps us think about how to make Brazil a welcoming country for all migrants. A country in which your origin, your accent and your phenotype should not influence the way you are received and treated.
We invite you to read the article by Deivison Mendes Faustino and Leila Maria de Oliveira, available at:
https://remhu.csem.org.br/index.php/remhu/article/view/1494
Reference:
FAUSTINO, Deivison M.; OLIVEIRA, Leila Maria de. Xeno-racism or racialized xenophobia? Problematizing selective hospitality to foreigners in Brazil. REMHU: Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Mobility, v. 29, n. 63, p. 193-210, 2021.
[1] See LETTER from Pedro [....] Almeida Falcão to the Governor and Captain-General of the Captaincy of Mato Grosso João Carlos Augusto D’ Oeynhausen e Gravemberg.
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