Latin American Antiracism in a 'Post-Racial' Age

与美国或欧洲等地区相比，拉丁美洲经常被认为是一个种族主义问题较少的地区。由于大多数人都是“混血”（mesestizos），而混血儿往往被视为国家身份的本质，因此清晰的种族界限变得模糊，导致种族隔离水平相对较低，种族问题的公众形象也相对较低。在欧洲和美国，种族混合和跨越种族界限的互动是拉丁美洲的典型，在其他地方也越来越明显，一些观察家认为这将导致“后种族”现实，在这种情况下，反种族主义和多元文化主义——在这种观点中被视为加剧社会差异的分裂政策——变得没有必要。批评人士指出，这种混合并不是拉丁美洲种族不平等和种族主义的解药：它们都是共存的。这严重限制了混血会导致“后种族”时代的说法。该项目将调查玻利维亚、巴西、哥伦比亚和墨西哥的反种族主义行为和意识形态。该项目将有助于构想和解决该区域的种族主义、种族不平等和反种族主义问题。我们还提出，拉丁美洲为在“后种族”世界中思考种族主义和反种族主义提供了新的机会。了解种族主义和反种族主义是如何在拉丁美洲- -在混合现象普遍存在的情况下- -构思和实施的，可以帮助我们了解如何看待世界其他地区的种族主义和反种族主义，这些地区的种族观念在某些方面正朝着拉丁美洲模式转变。同样至关重要的是，要展示混合在拉丁美洲——一个远非同质的地区——与种族主义共存的各种方式。每个国家的研究团队将与一系列关注种族主义和歧视的组织合作，探索这些组织如何概念化和解决关键问题，这些问题在其他地区面临类似情况时变得越来越突出。首先，当大多数人是混血的，当他们可能否认种族和种族主义的重要性，他们自己既是种族主义的受害者又是肇事者时，如何实践反种族主义。其次，当“文化”似乎是谈论差异的主要话语时，如何概念化和实践反种族主义，但当身体差异（肤色，头发类型等）仍然强大但往往不被承认的迹象促使人们歧视。第三，在种族和阶级高度重合，容易否认种族和种族主义是重要因素的情况下，如何理解种族主义并与之斗争。第四，在白人男性和非白人女性的混合被视为美国建国法案的背景下，如何确保反种族主义有效地解决性别差异问题。第五，当人们经常声称几乎没有公开的种族主义暴力，这是种族宽容的证据时，如何追求反种族主义。我们将探讨这些因素如何在机构、组织和日常实践中构成——并可能限制——关于（反）种族主义的想法。我们的项目将与玻利维亚、巴西、哥伦比亚和墨西哥的组织合作——这些国家充分体现了该地区的多样性——探索种族主义和反种族主义是如何在国家和非国家领域、立法和媒体以及各种运动和项目中被概念化和处理的。我们的目标是通过反馈我们的调查结果和帮助建立网络，加强拉丁美洲的反种族主义做法；并为了解该地区内外的种族主义和反种族主义提供有用的见解。

Latin America has often been held up as a region where racism is less of a problem than in regions such as the United States or Europe. Because most people are "mestizos" (mixed race) and mixture is often seen as the essence of national identity, clear racial boundaries are blurred, resulting in comparatively low levels of racial segregation and a traditionally low public profile for issues of race. In Europe and the United States, the racial mixture and interaction across racial boundaries, which are typical of Latin America and are becoming more visible elsewhere, are heralded by some observers as leading towards a 'post-racial' reality, where anti-racism and multiculturalism - seen in this view as divisive policies that accentuate social differences - become unnecessary. Critics point out that mixture is not an antidote to racial inequality and racism in Latin America: they all coexist. This severely qualifies claims that mixture can lead to a 'post-racial' era. This project will investigate anti-racist practices and ideologies in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The project will contribute to conceptualising and addressing problems of racism, racial inequality and anti-racism in the region. We also propose that Latin America presents new opportunities for thinking about racism and anti-racism in a 'post-racial' world. Understanding how racism and anti-racism are conceived and practised in Latin America - in contexts in which mixture is pervasive - can help us to understand how to think about racism and anti-racism in other regions of the world, where notions of race have been changing in some respects towards Latin American patterns. It is also crucial to show the variety of ways in which mixture operates and co-exists with racism in Latin America - a region that is far from homogeneous.Research teams in each country, working with a range of organisations concerned with racism and discrimination, will explore how the organisations conceptualise and address key problems, which are becoming more salient in other regions, which confront similar scenarios. First, how to practice anti-racism when most people are mixed and when they may deny the importance of race and racism and themselves be both victims and the perpetrators of racism. Second, how to conceptualise and practice anti-racism when "culture" seems to be the dominant discourse for talking about difference, but when physical difference (skin colour, hair type, etc.) remain powerful but often unacknowledged signs that move people to discriminate. Third, how to understand racism and combat it when race and class coincide to a great extent and make it easy to deny that race and racism are important factors. Fourth, how to make sure anti-racism addresses gender difference effectively, in a context in which mixture between white men and non-white women has been seen as the founding act of the nation. Fifth, how to pursue anti-racism when it is often claimed that there is little overt racist violence and that this is evidence of racial tolerance. We will explore how these elements structure - and may constrain - ideas about (anti-)racism within institutions, organisations and everyday practice. Our project will work with organisations in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico - countries that capture a good range of the region's diversity - to explore how racism and anti-racism are conceptualised and addressed in state and non-state circles, in legislation and the media, and in a variety of campaigns and projects. We aim to strengthen anti-racist practice in Latin America by feeding back our findings and by helping build networks; and to provide useful insights for understanding racism and anti-racism within and outside the region.