New Perspectives on Race and Racism Among Brazilians of Asian Descent Open Access

Abstract

Spikes in anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic have elicited a variety of responses from Asian Americans living in the United States, but less is known about how Brazilians of Asian descent perceive and cope with COVID-19 associated racism. Questions of race and racism are further complicated in the Brazilian context due to popular belief in the notion of “racial democracy,” which suggests that Brazil has overcome racism and is now colorblind to race. This thesis wields ethnographic methods of participant observation and includes 21 semi-structured interviews conducted with self-identifying Asian Brazilian scholars and antiracist activists. Analysis of interview data demonstrated a propensity for intraethnic conflict that was particularly exacerbated by tensions resulting from COVID-19 associated anti-Chinese hate. My research identifies and examines three proximate explanations for this lack of group cohesion and solidarity: different beliefs on the nature of racism in Brazil, varying countries of origin, and different generational perspectives on the utility of activism. I also explore how COVID-19 associated anti-Asian racism perpetuates historically continuous themes of the Yellow Peril and the Model Minority narrative in ways that further challenge Asian Brazilian activist solidarity. This narrative-driven ethnography ultimately serves to illustrate the form and function of anti-Asian racism in Brazil and the manner by which this racial violence is internalized. 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction ...........................................................................................................1

1.1 Research Motivations..........................................................................................................1

1.2 Why Brazil?........................................................................................................................3

1.3 Intraethnic Antiracist Solidarity…........................................................................................4

1.4 Proximate and Ultimate Research Goals….............................................................................7

1.5 An Anthropology of Anti-Asian Racism.................................................................................8

Chapter 2: A Review of the Literature Asian Brazilian History and Antiracist Activism .................10

2.1 Western Colonialism and the History of Asian Migration to Brazil.........................................10

2.2 Challenging the Myth of Brazilian Racial Democracy............................................................14 

2.3 The Asian Brazilian Negotiation of National Identity............................................................19

2.4 The Generational Divide ....................................................................................................22

2.5 The Construction of Pan-Ethnic Identity.............................................................................25

2.6 Theoretical Considerations of Anti-Asian Racism.................................................................27

 

Chapter 3: Challenges to Intraethnic Antiracist Solidarity..........................................................34

3.1 Introduction and Methodology............................................................................................34

3.2 Anti-Asian Hate: Is It Racism or Prejudice? ..........................................................................42

3.3 The Japanese Brazilian Response to Rises in Anti-Chinese Sentiment ....................................57

3.4 Differences in Generational Perspectives..............................................................................69

Chapter 4. Conclusion...............................................................................................................82

4.1 Intersectionality Through the Model Minority Narrative........................................................84

4.2 Implications and Future Directions.......................................................................................90

4.3 Reflections..........................................................................................................................99

Bibliography ...........................................................................................................................103

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Anthropology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies Anthropology, Cultural Asian Studies
Keyword	Activism Solidarity Chinese Racism Asian Japanese Brazil Intergenerational Trauma Race Model Minority
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Craig Hadley, Emory University Jessica Ham, Emory University
Committee Members	Justin Hosbey, Emory University Jeffrey Lesser, Emory University

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