There are approximately 150 million people of African descent in Latin America yet Afro-descendants have been consistently marginalized as undesirable elements of the society. Latin America has nevertheless long prided itself on its absence of U.S.-styled state-mandated Jim Crow racial segregation laws. This book disrupts the traditional narrative of Latin America's legally benign racial past by comprehensively examining the existence of customary laws of racial regulation and the historic complicity of Latin American states in erecting and sustaining racial hierarchies. Tanya Katerí Hernández is the first author to consider the salience of the customary law of race regulation for the contemporary development of racial equality laws across the region. Therefore, the book has a particular relevance for the contemporary U.S. racial context in which Jim Crow laws have long been abolished and a 'post-racial' rhetoric undermines the commitment to racial equality laws and policies amidst a backdrop of continued inequality.
• Provides a comprehensive examination of the entire Latin American region with regard to racial inequality • Hernández is the first author to thoroughly consider the role of customary law in erecting and sustaining racial hierarchies • Offers a comprehensive examination of development of racial equality laws across the region
Contents
1. Racial innocence and the customary law of race regulation; 2. Spanish America whitening the race – the un(written) laws of 'blanqueamiento' and 'mestizaje'; 3. Brazilian 'Jim Crow': the immigration law whitening project and the customary law of racial segregation – a case study; 4. The social exclusion of Afro-descendants in Latin America today; 5. Afro-descendant social justice movements and the new anti-discrimination laws; 6. Brazil: at the forefront of Latin American race-based affirmative action policies and census racial data collection; 7. Conclusion: the United States–Latin America connections.
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