[stoneeZef]

I had glanced through the thread about Puerto Rico's rising population of self proclaimed "blacks", so I decided to do a little research on the recent census figures of the nation that is said to have the world's largest "black" population outside of Africa.

“In an American sense, the Brazilian black population is now larger than the white one.�

Early last October, the work of the last Brazilian census had not yet been finished, but we already knew that our adult black population had grown two percentage points, from 5% to 7%, over the last ten years. (In Brazil, black people are officially considered a category apart from the racially mixed population.) For those who know Brazil and know that the country has the largest black population in the world, after only Nigeria, these numbers may seem surprisingly small. And these people may also ask how could this have happened? The new persons who were born in this so short period of time - 10 years - are not adult enough to be included by the census collector. So, where did those two percentage points came from?

Before answering, let’s explore another fundamental question: 7% is a small, insignificant number?

The answer may be Yes and No, as it depends on whom is reading it. Numbers are not geographic symbols but, as they don’t lie, they are the most powerful kind of authority we have to prove something, although our sense about their meaning may vary according to different national criteria. If you are Brazilian, 7% is very small, considering a population of 190 million people. But for those people in the world who deal with racial discrimination and racism, it will never be insignificant.

The census, made by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e EstatÃ*stica-IBGE, doesn’t explain, as it is not its official business to make considerations about the development of racial awareness, but that difference of 2 points shows that, now, two million more people are accepting and proclaiming their real color. Ten years ago, when another census took place, they had said that they were not blacks, but “mestiçosâ€� or “mulattos,â€� a category more favored, socially. That difference is good proof that racial consciousness is growing in Brazil, which means that more and more black people are not ashamed of their racial identity, and, not statistically but ethnically speaking, two percentage points is a big and significant number.

“Two million more people are accepting and proclaiming their real color.�

http://uhurunews.com/story?resource_...-black-is-back Here is a documentary that goes a bit further into how Brazilian Blacks and mixed raced Blacks feel about discrimination against them in the political arena and in the media.



Can any Brazilians on this forum twleve further into this social issue?