Black and brown are two of the five color and race groups defined by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). This along with whites, yellows and indigenous people.
the term black takes as reference the ancestry coming from natives of Africa. Regardless of their territory or social construction, due to the phenotype manifested by their dark skin.
Per brown, is understood as a person who has ethnic ancestry from more than one group, that is, mestizo. This miscegenation includes:
- Descendants of Blacks and Whites
- Descendants of blacks with indigenous people
- Descendants of Indians with Whites
In addition to all other possible direct or indirect interracial interactions.
Already the concept of black is defined by the Statute of Racial Equality as:
The set of people who declare themselves black and brown, according to the color or race used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics Foundation (IBGE), or that adopt self-definition analogous.
There are arguments against classifying blacks and browns in the same group. Some currents of research claim that blacks suffer much more discrimination. And, according to
colorism theory, the darker the color of a person's skin, the greater the racism suffered in our society.Blacks or Blacks?
The discussion about the most correct term varies according to the construction of different cultures and language usage.
However, in Brazil, the idea that both terms are accepted seems to be moving towards a consensus. This is based on the choice and self-identification of individuals or groups.
For the IBGE, black is related to the racial issue, while black is exclusively related to skin color.
Who is considered black or brown?
According to IPEA researcher Rafael Osório, there are three methods of racial identification:
- Self-attribution of belonging or self-identification: the subject himself identifies the group to which he considers himself a member;
- Heteroattribution of belonging or heteroidentification: another person identifies the group to which the subject belongs;
- Biological identification: done through genetic analysis.
The classification system of the IBGE simultaneously uses the methods of self-identification and hetero-identification.
Origin of the terms preto and pardo, and usage in the Brazilian census
The term brown has its origin along with the history of Brazil, being recorded by Pero Vaz de Caminha in 1500. In his letter to the King of Portugal, he described the Indians as brown. Already in its etymology, the word derives from pardus, which means "leopard" in Latin.
The term preto was used in the first half of the 19th century to designate Africans, while the term creole was used for blacks born in Brazil. Later, the term black came to encompass both Africans and their descendants.
Both the terms preto and pardo were used in the first Brazilian census, carried out in 1872. In the 1890 census, the term pardo was replaced by "mestizo", but it was used again in the 1940 census and remains in use today.
See also the differences between:
- race and ethnicity
- Prejudice, Racism and Discrimination
- Racism and Racial Injury
