In recent years Brazilians have demonstrated a sudden and newfound tendency to change their racial identifications and adopt nonwhite (and especially black) identities. I argue this sudden change can be attributed to state-led educational expansion for lower classes, which has increased their personal exposure to racialized inequalities and discrimination. Drawing on in-depth interviews and national survey data, I elaborate and specify mechanisms through which educational access impacts racial subjectivity and patterns of identification. Ultimately, I aim to show how expanded access to social citizenship benefits has reshaped racial identities and helped to foment a growing racial consciousness in Brazil.

David De Micheli is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Ethnic Studies at the University of Utah. His current book project examines the consequences of educational expansion for the politicization of racial identities and inequalities in Brazil. His current research is published or is forthcoming in World Politics and Latin American Politics and Society.

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