“Map of the population according to color and race” is released during the Third CONAPIR conference

Note from BW of Brazil: The recent CONAPIR conference that took place a few weeks ago was very productive. There were black women calling for equality in media (a main theme on this blog as well), the ongoing folklorization of Afro-Brazilian religions as well as the official announcement of the Black Brazilian Women’s March in 2015! Today on the blog, BW of Brazil shares with you a map also released at the conference with the goal of tracking the percentages of the Afro-Brazilian population (pretos + pardos) throughout Brazil. As posted a while back, the total number of pretos (black) and pardos (brown) was estimated to have passed the 101 million mark, a little more than half of Brazil’s 200 million citizens. As the fight for racial equality in all areas of Brazilian society continues, this information will continue to be vitally important.

“Map of the population according to race and color” is released at the III CONAPIR conference
Product shows percentage distribution of the black population in Brazil with a focus on socioeconomic indicators

courtesy of CONAPIR/SEPPIR

The “Mapa da Distribuição Espacial da População, segundo a cor ou raça – Pretos e Pardos (Map of Spatial Distribution of Population, by color or race – Blacks and Mulattos/Browns” was launched on November 7th, during the III Conferência Nacional de Promoção da Igualdade Racial (III National Conference on Racial Equality (CONAPIR). A fruit of technical cooperation between SEPPIR and IBGE, the product shows the percentage distribution of the black population in the country, based on the Census of 2010.

The term of cooperation agreement signed between the two bodies provides for the development of demographic studies and spatial analysis, and the inclusion of information on the basis of quilombo (maroon society) areas in the territorial bases of the IBGE.

“Spatial representation allows us to see living standards, contributing to the implementation of public policies according to the needs of each region,” said the IBGE aide, José Sena. In the Federal District, for example, localities with majority white populations have higher income per capita, compared to areas where negros (pretos + pardos) are in the numerical majority.

Inequalities are repeated in other units of the federation. In Rio de Janeiro, the neighborhoods of classes A and B (upper and upper middle class) contrast with the slums, the latter composed by an Afro-Brazilian majority. In Rio Grande do Sul, there are territories of urban quilombos in which one finds noticeably lower socioeconomic to neighboring neighborhoods, among other examples.

In this context, the expert in public policy of SEPPIR Arthur Sinimbu, says that the maps make the visualization of the indicators easier, making them accessible and can be used as tools of social participation. “A community can use the available information on the map to show that their rights are being infringed upon, to demand the implementation of effective policies,” he adds.

Source: III CONAPIR-SEPPIR