Relating Race and Identity in Latin American Revolutions and Today

The Brazilian Revolution began in 1789, when elites under the captaincy of Minas Gerais revolted. They were protesting the imposition of new taxes and wanted imperial control reasserted. After Napoleon and his armies invaded Portugal and Spain in 1807 and 1808, the Spanish American colonies were left isolated from total control. In addition, King John IV arrives in Brazil as Portugal's prince regent after French troops invaded Lisbon in 1807. In 1815, John VI elevates Brazil to a "kingdom", five years later the Portuguese army heads into a revolution hoping to bring a constitutional monarchy. But, in 1821 John VI leaves Brazil, in fear of losing the crown, and leaves his son, Pedro, in charge. A year later, Pedro declares Brazil's independence, which was recognized by Portugal in 1825. Brazil is known as one of the few Latin American colonies to gain independence peacefully. Although race played a large role in most of the Latin American revolutions, it do not have much impact at all in Brazil's revolution. Identity did have a minor role in the revolution, it all began with the Minas Conspiracy which "involved prominent figures as well as military officers". Who people were according to social class had an impact on what they wanted for the country, in that instance the elites wanted imperial control and imposed the new taxes, and this all sparked Brazil's revolution.

In the United States we hear about a new issue that relates to race just about every day. The latest issue is the death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, who was shot by a white police officer. This terrible incident occurred on August 9th 2014 in Ferguson Missouri, and sparked many different reactions from people all across America. The Washington Post’s article “Was Michael Brown surrendering or advancing to attack Officer Darren Wilson?” discusses the controversies regarding the shooting and what both Brown’s and Wilson’s intentions were. In the article, author, Kimbriell Kelley, writes “The question of whether Brown charged at Wilson was a key piece of the puzzle for the St. Louis County grand jury, which decided last week that it would not indict the officer in connection with the killing.” Americans are left to interpret this incident by themselves based on whatever information they hear in the news or wherever, so chaos is breaking out all throughout the United States. Kelley wrote “Most of the roughly two dozen witnesses who saw the fatal gunfire Aug. 9 told the grand jury they observed something that was both upsetting and bewildering to them — a wounded black man, his hands raised somehow, walking toward the white police officer who was shooting at him.” The death of Michael Brown has left America wondering whether race is clouding the judgement of law enforcement. I strongly believe that race continues to affect national identity and politics, and it’s a disgrace to our Constitution. The article  “Was Michael Brown surrendering or advancing to attack Officer Darren Wilson?” shed light on the unfair treatment towards people of race by the law enforcement, while also sorting out the logistics of the case. Race and identity should have absolutely no relation to our rights as a citizen of the United States and just as a human. Yet, in this day and age in the United States we still see reports of people being victimized because of their race or identity, when will it come to an end?

Kelley, Kimbriell. "Was Michael Brown Surrendering or Advancing to Attack Officer Darren Wilson?" Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2014/11/29/b99ef7a8-75d3-11e4-a755-e32227229e7b_story.html>.