> Race as a concept distinct from ethnicity arises out of slavery and segregation. Brazil also imported slaves from Africa, but its concepts of “race” have alw

> Race as a concept distinct from ethnicity arises out of slavery and segregation. Brazil also imported slaves from Africa, but its concepts of “race” have always been quite different - much more fluid - than those of the US. Brazil never had anywhere near as much segregation as the US. Indeed, I think US ideas about “race” weren’t caused by segregation, they pre-existed and caused segregation-Brazil never adopted those policies, despite the shared experience of African slavery, due to having different ideas about “race” from the start And there’s a lot about American ideas of “race” which can’t be explained by either slavery or segregation. I mentioned before the arbitrary boundary between “White” and “Asian”, drawn along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border - that seems to have no logical connection to either