Dreaming Equality: Color, Race, and Racism in Urban Brazil
In this ethnography, Sheriff (anthropology, Florida  International Univ.) challenges the decades-old claim that  Brazil is relatively free of racial prejudice and functions as a  democracia racial ("racial democracy") by examining how  discourse there constructs cultural understanding. To better  appreciate how Brazilians talk about (or avoid talking about)  color, race, and racism in everyday life, Sheriff moved to Rio  de Janeiro, where she lived in a black shantytown for a year and  a half, interviewing the residents, their white, middle-class  neighbors, and urban black militants. After studying the  narratives of residents who described themselves and others in  color terms, she came to the conclusion that most Brazilians are  very aware that racial discrimination exists in their society  but help maintain the status quo by keeping silent. Skillfully  dismembering the concept of democracia racial and all its  paradoxes, Sheriff offers an innovative method for analyzing  racism in any country or locale, not just Brazil. For academic  libraries. Deborah Bigelow, Leonia P.L., NJCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.