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Bridging Histories, Forging Futures: Celebrating 200 Years of Brazil-US Relations
Overview
During the transatlantic slave trade, close to 12 million Africans were enslaved and brought to the Americas. Nearly 4.9 million were taken to Brazil and close to 400,000 were traded to the United States. The United States abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1808. Brazil relied heavily on the transatlantic slave trade as its primary source of labor until the Lei Áurea, or Golden Law, abolished slavery in 1888.
The transatlantic slave trade and the struggles for freedom and equality for Afro-descendent communities have shaped both Brazil and the United States as multiethnic, multiracial democracies. Today, Afro-Brazilians account for 56% of Brazil’s population and African Americans comprise 12% of the US population, playing vital roles in their nations’ economies, politics, and cultures. Despite progress, however, systemic inequalities persist, highlighting the challenge for both nations of addressing historical injustices.
In May 2024, the United States and Brazil celebrate the bicentennial of their diplomatic relations. To commemorate this milestone, the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute will host a dialogue on Thursday, May 23, 2024, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ET), exploring how the shared experiences of the transatlantic slave trade and efforts to promote racial equality play an important role in the relationship between the United States and Brazil. The discussion will also examine initiatives by governments, civil society institutions, and the private sector in both countries to combat racism, address racial health disparities, and promote environmental justice, access to education and economic opportunity, and equality in the justice system.
Speakers
Ynaê Lopes dos Santos
Desirée Cormier Smith
Introductions
Bruna Santos
Maria Luiza Viotti
Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.
Anthony Harrington
Moderator
Tona Boyd
Hosted By
Brazil Institute
The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—works to foster understanding of Brazil’s complex reality and to support more consequential relations between Brazilian and US institutions in all sectors. The Brazil Institute plays this role by producing independent research and programs that bridge the gap between scholarship and policy, and by serving as a crossroads for leading policymakers, scholars and private sector representatives who are committed to addressing Brazil’s challenges and opportunities. Read more
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more