The End of 'Social Whitening'.(prospects for black Brazilians)(Brief Article)

Brazilians often assume that blacks have just three ways to gain social standing: get a richer white family to "sponsor" you, marry someone fair-skinned or undergo "social whitening" by adopting mainstream (read: white) behavior, attitudes and tastes. Ironically, the opportunity for blacks to whiten themselves has often been cited as evidence that Brazil is free of prejudice, a true "racial democracy."

But now, these dated notions are losing ground. Recent research shows that black Brazilians gain upward mobility not mainly from white benefactors, but from access to education or government jobs. The public sector has been a gateway to opportunity for people of African descent almost everywhere, but especially in Brazil. Unlike in the United States, public employees generally earn higher wages with better benefits than they would in the private sector. What is more, the colorblind government hiring process helps eliminate the bias of the private labor market, where too often a "good appearance" (code for light-skinned only) is still required.

Blacks have not fared well in the private business world. A recent survey showed that 94 percent of top executives at the biggest Brazilian corporations are white, so precious few blacks gain the experience to go into business on their own. Nonwhites make up 45.3 percent of the population but only 17.8 percent of all registered entrepreneurs. It's hard for blacks to get started. In a society where a majority of blacks are poor and often stereotyped as dangerous, just walking into a bank can be daunting. With only a fragile family safety net to fall back on if business goes sour, black entrepreneurs instinctively avoid taking out bank loans.

There is no average black Brazilian empresario, of course, but if there were he would be male, married, relatively young (25 to 45 years old), with up to eight years of schooling, and blue-collar parents. Most are the first in their families to rise above their social station, and tend not to delegate decisions to outsiders. Often they are overworked, overwhelmed by the rigors of day-to-day management. My research shows that blacks are strongly represented among small and midsized retailers and ...