Racism

Racism can occur from three to:

When there is hate crime or direct racial discrimination: this form of manifestation of racism is more evident. These are situations in which people are defamed, violated or have access to some kind of service or place denied because of their color or ethnic origin.

When there is institutional racism: less direct and evident this form of racial discrimination occurs by institutional means, but not explicitly, against individuals because of their color. Examples of this racist practice are the more violent approaches of the police against black people and the distrust of security agents and companies against black people without coherent justifications. A good example of the struggle of institutional racism is the Charlottesville protests in the United States in 2017, due to the criminal conduct of police officers who killed unarmed and surrendered blacks in approaches, and acting with unnecessary violence.

When there is structural racism: less noticeable yet, structural racism is crystallized in the culture of a people, in a way that often does not even look like racism. The presence of structural racism can be seen in the fact that few black or indigenous people occupy leadership positions in large companies. That, in the courses of the best universities, the overwhelming majority - if not all - of students is white: or when there is the use of linguistic expressions and racist jokes. The situation gets even worse when the actions or findings described are dealt with normally.

Law No. 7716, ofJanuary 1989, makes any crime that excludes or discriminates persons dependingon their color, ethnicity or race. Known as an anti-racism law, this legalmeasure, which represents a huge step in the struggle for racial equality inBrazil, provides for prison sentences for those who commit crimes of hatred orracial intolerance.

According to the text of the law, people cannot be discriminated against in contracting companies, public tenders, and access to stores, stadiums or any other establishments according to their color. Also prohibited is the dissemination of racist messages and symbols that refer to any supremacist theory, such as the Nazi swastika. When the crime of racial discrimination occurs through vehicles of communication, the penalty can be higher, and can reach five years of imprisonment.

 In addition to this law, a bill of 2015, Senator  Paulo  Paim, is passed in the National Congress, which, if approved, will make racism and hatred on account of race and color aggravating serious crimes. Thus, in cases of serious bodily injury and homicide, when racially motivated, defendants, if convicted, may face more severe penalties.

What is racism?

Racism is social discrimination based on the concept that there are different human races and that one is superior to others. This notion is based on different motivations, especially the physical characteristics and other traits of human behavior.