By: Dave Devereaux
Reel Urban News Global
Just like the United States, Brazil is facing its own racial unrest these days caused when a black man was beaten to death by white security guards in a Carrefour supermarket Thursday, November 19, after he allegedly threatened to attack a store clerk. Just as in America, it was all caught on camera where the two guards had already restrained him, yet one continued to beat him about the face and head. He died on the spot. He was a 40 year old father by the name of Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas.
Mr. Silveira Freitas was reported to have cried out, “I can’t breathe”, as they held him and beat him unconscious. It was later determined by the state forensic institute that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Does this sound familiar? It should, because these are the same words that George Floyd expressed as he lay at the foot of murderous police officers in Minneapolis.
As the unrest is playing out in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, civil unrest is ramped up due to the high number of black citizens killed at the hands of police in that country every year. The supermarket where this all took place is the French-owned Carrefour supermarket, part of a chain in the country. Throughout Brazil on Friday there were demonstrations in cities where the store chain is located. The stores were trashed in anger over the continued mistreatment of blacks. Protests broke out in the capital Brasilia, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro where crowds picketed in front of Carrefour and prevented customers from shopping.
Carrefour Brazilain subsidiary denounced the violence that had taken place against Mr. Silveira Freitas and promised to take appropriate measures to hold all accountable in the incident. But much of that may be falling on deaf ears after decades of racial abuse of blacks. The two guards were arrested and noted that one of them is a member of the military police force, who was working part-time at the supermarket.
The incident sparked outrage on social media and overshadowed Brazil’s Black Consciousness Day, a holiday in several states. Raul Santiago, a social activist stated that; “From one November 20 to another, and every day, the racist structure of this country brings us brutality as a rule.” It must be noted that Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery in 1888. About 55% of the population of 212 million identify as black or mixed-race.
Just like Trump’s inability to denounce racism, the country’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has not commented directly on the death as of late Friday. Yet he tweeted, that the country’s problems go beyond racial issues and a greater evil continues to be moral, social and political corruption. Does this deflection sound familiar too? Just like Trump, rather than address the issue, he deflected to something else. He later tweets that, “As a president, I am colorblind: and everyone is the same color.” Again, who might he be emulating with statements like this? To be honest, anyone who states they don’t see color is more than colorblind, as it is always an obvious fact. Thaeone fact that most notably causes instances such as the death of Mr. Silveira Freitas.
Brazil is no stranger to protests of racial disparity however. There is a long history of wrongdoing in the country and yet a large enough base to elect the far-right Bolsonaro. And just like in America, when peaceful people protest that Black Lives Matter, it is met with police brutality and injustice. As recently as May, 2020 police used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up peaceful protests in Sao Paulo. Unprovoked gatherings garner extreme police behavior, just as it does here in the United States. In February 2019, Bolsonaro’s government unveiled a bill that could be used to protect police officers from prosecution after unjustifiable killings such as this. To make matters worse, the statistics in Brazil are appalling. In 2017 alone Brazillian police killed 5,144 people. Police in the United States that same year killed 987 people. Neith country should be proud of their statistics.
Brazil is the ninth largest economy in the world. It is a top tourist destination. However the country continues to confront serious questions touching on poverty, inequality, governance and the environment. If ever there was a country that mirrors the United States, Brazil comes extremely close. It is currently run by a President that ignores the science surrounding the COVID-19 virus, yet it remains a Level 4 Advisory country. Bolsonaro refers to climate change and environmental talks as “commercial game”, and refuses to address racial inequality head on. Much of what you see from Brazil is the need to address corruption and the continued dismantling of regulations and environmental protections of the Amazon. He taunts that he is “Nero, setting the Amazon aflame.”
It is incumbent upon a generation to address the ills of that generation. As in the United States, there are those in Brazil who are unafraid to draw attention to what is not right, even if it is personally dangerous. Brazilians are seeing this occur within the boundaries of their country and are now willing to speak up and speak out. People are no longer willing to accept the behaviors of the past and are quick to point that out.
One of the most poignant representations of race matters in the United States is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ docudrama, Between the World and Me. It is an adaptation of his book that embodies race in Black America, written to his 15 year old son. It is such a powerful piece, none have come close to its representation in decades. He summons the depth of James Baldwin in his most noted era and includes the participation of many notables within the black community. It must be said that the docudrama does not set out to make anything right, only to raise awareness that racial injustice is alive and ever present. Coates speaks to the reader with clarity and conviction. His passion expresses so much of what a culture and a people feel.
As we know, racial injustices will probably not be repaired in our lifetime, it is important to note however, that it is systemic worldwide and must be addressed. Race is one of those conversations that makes you feel awkward, yet it has to be faced head on. My contention is that not all people of non-color are bad, or even come close to being racist, yet somewhere in their upbringing they were told that blacks are less than and should be handled as such. To be disrespected and discarded because of race will no longer be allowed. Generations will continue to rise up and speak louder and clearer about matters of race. Proof of this is represented when people in other countries complain of the same racial inequalities that we feel are isolated incidents here in the United States. I can only pray that future generations will face a more just and equal world than has been presented to us thus far.
Dave Devereaux is a retired public school principal and school administrator. Dave is the Senior National Editor at ReelUrbanNews.com.
