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REVIEWS

ALMEIDA, S. Racismo estrutural. [Structural Racism] São Paulo:

Pólen, 2019. 264 p. ISBN 978-85-98349-75-6.

Juliana Harumi Chinatti Yamanaka*

*
Universidade de Brasília - UnB/FD, Departamento de Linguística, Português e Línguas Clássicas,
Doutoranda no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil;
[Link] julianalapsis@[Link]
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 Power and ideology have both been objects of research of the scientific study of
language in the past 90 years, but it was particularly as of this century (although not
exclusively) that theories began to question the universal man model that would include
the racial perspective within the theoretical framework of their research.
Ever since then, the dialogue between discourse analysis research and a social
theory that provides elements for understanding the connection between power and
linguistic resources could no longer be put off by those seeking to facilitate social
criticism and change in Brazil. Against this background, the racial issue emerges as a
main topic of discussion among discourse analysis researchers dealing with social
interactions in the context of a semi-periphery country, as in the case of Brazil.
Such a social theory is important in that, in addition to the formal elements from
which a linguistic analysis based on the internal features of the language may be inferred,
the nature of discourse invariably leads to factors which lie outside the linguistic system
i.e. to the social dimension of language (VOLOŠINOV, 1973).1 Hence, whereas the value
of a sign is a social construct, which at times overlaps with ideologies, discourse is a
social practice mediated by other multiple practices establishing a relational dialectics
with the social structures.
This line of approach is based on regarding discourse as another moment of social
practice that should be analyzed alongside other non-semiotic practices of the social
process (FAIRCLOUGH; MELO, 2012). Discourse is, therefore, another dimension of
the social process worth investigating, not necessarily central to or independent of other
social practices of the material world (FAIRCLOUGH, 2003).
In order to better understand the dialectics relation between language and society,
a dialogue between Linguistics and Social Science studies is needed. To that purpose and
taking the Brazilian context into account, “Racismo Estrutural” [henceforth Structural
Racism] by Silvio Almeida is recommended since his distinguishing theoretical research
is paramount to have a clear picture of racial issues in Brazil.
Holder of a PhD from the University of Sao Paulo School of Law, Almeida is
currently associate professor at the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
and associate professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation School of Business

1
VOLOŠINOV, V.N. Marxism and the Philosophy of Language. Translated by Ladislav Matejka and
I.R. Titunik. Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England: Harvard University Press, 1973.
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Administration, and has carried out an extensive research on law and philosophy studies.
“Republicanismo e questão racial” [Republicanism and the racial issue]; “Crise, racismo
e neoliberalismo” [Crisis, racism and neoliberalism]; “Estado e direito: a construção da
raça” [State and law: a racial construction] are among the papers produced by Almeida.
Almeida’s most recent work, Structural Racism, itself is not focused on discourse
analysis, but it is worth reading as it points out issues related to the subjects, the history,
and the social contexts of language – elements that should not be neglected when the
Brazilian situation is the subject of discourse analysis. Aiming primarily at introducing a
critical and in-depth contemporary social theory, whilst maintaining a didactic approach,
Structural Racism challenges the reader to think about discourse issues within racist
practices networks. To that end, the author provides an overview on philosophy, political
science, as well as legal and economic theory in dialogue with the concept of race over
the course of the book.
Structural Racism is a 264-page pocketbook that makes up the series Plural
Feminisms,2 released by Pólen Publishing Company in 2019 under the imprint Sueli
Carneiro. The book features the researchers Marcelo Paixão (University of Texas at
Austin, USA) and Luiz Felipe de Alencastro (University of Paris-Sorbonne Paris and
Getulio Vargas Foundation School of Business Administration) endorsing the importance
of Structural Racism in its final cover.
The book is divided into five major chapters – Raça e racismo [Race and racism],
Racismo e ideologia [Racism and ideology]; Racismo and política [Racism and politics];
Racismo e direito [Racism and law]; and Racismo e economia [Racism and economics].
In general, each chapter deals with a key issue: “racism is always structural, i.e. […] it is
an element inherent to the economic and political organization of society. […] it is the
normal expression of a society, not a pathological phenomenon or some form of
abnormality”3 (ALMEIDA, 2019, p.20).
In the first chapter, “Raça e racism” [Race and racism], Almeida (2019) develops
the concept of race, which, while analyzed under a relational and historical approach,

2
Other important publications released by the series Plural Feminisms (“Feminismos Plurais,” in
Portuguese) address racist humor, cultural appropriation, mass incarceration, religious intolerance,
intersectionality, and place of speech.
3
Original: “o racismo é sempre estrutural, ou seja, [...] ele é um elemento que integra a organização
econômica e política da sociedade. [...] é a manifestação normal de uma sociedade, e não é um fenômeno
patológico ou que expressa algum tipo de anormalidade.”
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goes back to the 16th century, and has changed since then. However, it was following the
Enlightenment Project in the 18th century that there was a rise of a new secular type of
racism, so far justified on the grounds of theological beliefs.4 Within the Enlightenment
project, man becomes the main object of study in philosophy and anthropology, being
represented in the dichotomy of civilized versus savage. In the following century, this
very same man becomes the object of investigation and pseudoscientific discourses that
would, in a deterministic manner, associate biological characteristics, climatic and/or
environmental conditions with moral, psychological, and intellectual differences. Such
biologically-based theories of race played a role in providing ideological claims to
support colonial politics even after slavery had been abolished. This can be seen in the
first great crisis of capitalism that had begun in 1873, and which resulted in imperialism
and neocolonialism in the African territory.
After a brief outline of the historical background, Almeida describes the
similarities and specificities regarding the terms prejudice, discrimination, and racism,
while highlights how, throughout history, discrimination has become “social
stratification, an intergenerational phenomenon affecting the life course of all members
from a social group – including the chances of achieving social mobility, social
recognition and means of subsistence”5 (ALMEIDA, 2019, p.33). Subsequently, the
author presents three approaches to racism: individualistic, institutional, and structural.
The objective is to stress the importance of recognizing racism over and above a problem
of deviant, irrational or abnormal behavior of a single individual or a group, but rather as
a set of unconscious, conscious, and even institutionalized practices that interact in such
a manner that they ultimately normalize “political, economic, legal and even familiar
relations”6 (ALMEIDA, 2019, p.52).
The second chapter, “Racismo e ideologia” [Racism and ideology], a must-read
for discourse analysis researchers is focused on explaining issues such as (i) naturalization
of racism, (ii) the relations among racism, ideology, and social structure, (iii) the role of

4
According to Munanga (2004), other theories used by the Calvinists found mytical support in the tale of
Noah and his three sons (who were descendants of white, yellow, and black race) to justify and legitimize
antiblack racism.
5
Original: “estratificação social, um fenômeno intergeracional, em que o percurso de vida de todos os
membros de um grupo social – o que inclui as chances de ascensão social, de reconhecimento e de sustento
material – é afetado.”
6
Original: “relações políticas, econômicas, jurídicas e até familiares.”
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science and culture in keeping racism alive, (iv) where white people stand in the process
of racialization, and, finally, (v) the relationship between racism and meritocracy.
According to Almeida (2019), perpetuating racism is possible insofar as (i) it
creates a system to specifically justify racial inequality, and (ii) it forms subjective
insensitivity in face of racial discrimination and violence. In this ideological operation,
science and culture play a major role. The first by producing expert-based discourses,
pervaded by authority and a matter-of-fact approach that have been perfected throughout
the development of capitalism and technological progress as to replace, for example,
scientific racism by “cultural relativism” and “multiculturalism,” which in turn evoke, in
the latter, a model of society that can be controlled, and in which the practice of cultural
annihilation is exchanged for the power of determining value and sign. The social theory
presented by Almeida enables us to perceive that the possibility to assign value and
meaning always takes place on the basis of a relational operation in the simultaneous
social construction of whites and blacks differently from another, particularly how they
are treated in the law enforcement system and labor regimes. It is therefore absolutely
imperative to question meritocracy since it considers that all social subjects are allegedly
given equal opportunities in a society ruptured by capitalism.
In the third chapter, “Racismo and política” [Racism and politics], the author (i)
defines the concept of State and its relation with capitalism (ii) by explaining the
articulation of a nationalist narrative in this context. In addition, this chapter addresses
(iii) representativeness, (iv) biopolitics, and (v) necropolitics.
As a complement to the previous chapter, which ends with the approach to
meritocracy, Almeida begins the third chapter by laying the grounds of his social theory,
which inevitably discusses the Theory of the Bourgeois State. Here, Almeida voices his
sharp criticism against the liberal theory which, based on the ideal that individuals are
free (in particular to form contracts) in the capitalist system, is limited to an individualistic
perspective of racism that perceives the whole set of racial discrimination solely through
the lens of a personal deviant behavior in terms of ethics when facing (formal) equality
established by law. To show how racism, State, and capitalism relate to each other,
Almeida borrows from Mascaro (2013, p.19) the concept that “reproducing capitalism is

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built upon specific and necessary social forms, which are the core of its own sociability,”7
one of these forms being racism.
According to Almeida (2019), it is not possible to understand racism unless we
take into consideration how it operates within the state structures, as it is within the state
that individuals are subject to being classified and divided. Nationalism, in turn, offers a
functional approach in an attempt to rebuild a common identity towards ending conflicts
among different groups/classes and the contradictions of capitalism, which over time has
improved its strategies and methods to be reproduced across the world. For instance, the
author points out the limits of representativeness in predominantly white institutions; the
act of educating, ruling or putting an end to lives; and the continuation of a bureaucratic,
mortal system, which has self-claimed itself as “of exception,” but then again is rather a
form of politics aimed at the genocide of black Brazilians.
The fourth chapter, “Racismo e direito” [Racism and law], is divided into six
sections, namely (i) law and justice, (ii) law as rule, (iii) law as power, (iv) law as social
relation, (v) race and legality, and (vi) law and antiracism.
Along the above-mentioned sections, the author explains contrasting ideas on how
law is related not only to historical periods at different points in time, but also to various
social justice projects. Part of this discussion levels critics to the individualistic
perspective as it disregards the impacts of state institutions on promoting racism or raising
suspicion on concepts based on a merely ethical point of view, i.e. that still remains
focused on the individual by ignoring how complex structural racism is in different
dimensions (ideological, cultural, political, economic, institutional, and material).
Against this line of thinking, the author proposes to consider the legal practice in the light
of dynamics of power and social relations within capitalism. A particular point of
attention is the excellent approach made by the author to resume the social theory in
linking law, the emergence of capitalist societies and the conception of “racist practices
based on legality”8 (ALMEIDA, 2019, p.136), which supports colonial conditions in the
contemporary world. This section, in particular, provides key theoretical contributions for
discourse analysis researchers, as well for the theoretical, political, and ethical debate.

7
Original: “a reprodução do capitalismo se estrutura por meio de formas sociais necessárias e específicas,
que constituem o núcleo de sua própria sociabilidade.”
8
Original: “a reprodução do capitalismo se estrutura por meio de formas sociais necessárias e específicas,
que constituem o núcleo de sua própria sociabilidade.”
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 The fifth and last chapter addresses “Racismo e economia” [Racism and
economics], a crucial issue to understand the structured perspective in the social theory
devised by Almeida. The author’s efforts to explore the issue can be observed in the 14
subsections dedicated to deal with the relationship between racism and economics. These
sections resume all preliminary ideas developed in the first chapter, as well as throughout
the book, which already led to its main topic of debate: “How is racism, as an enduring
legacy of the colonial exploitation, projected into the current Brazilian situation by means
of structuring (and being structured by) the set of institutions and relations within the
peripheral capitalism, allowing its perpetuation in that system?”
In summary, Almeida’s book overcomes any limitations which the pocketbook
format might impose to the comprehension of the discussion proposed. As for its
contribution to discourse analysis studies, we recommend reading and understanding the
book as a whole, rather than focusing solely on the chapter dedicated to ideology.
Almeida’s approach to structural racism proves to be a powerful instrument for
the comprehension of discourse analysis that takes into account the epistemological
perspective of the subjects directly affected by this social phenomenon, which has
language as one of its support tools.

REFERENCE
ALMEIDA, S. L. Republicanismo e questão racial. In: SCHWARCZ, L. M.;
STARLING, H. M. (org.). Dicionário da república: 51 textos críticos. São Paulo:
Companhia das Letras, 2019.
ALMEIDA, S. L.; VELLOZO, J. C. O. Crise, racismo e neoliberalismo. In: SOUZA, E.
A.; OLIVEIRA e SILVA, M. L. (org.). Trabalho, questão social e serviço social: a
autofagia do capital. 1. ed. São Paulo: Cortez Editora, 2019.
ALMEIDA, S. L. Estado e direito: a construção da raça. In: SILVA, M. L.; FARIAS, M.;
OCARIZ, M. C.; STIEL NETO, A. (org.). Estado e direito: a construção da raça. São
Paulo: Escuta, 2018, v. 1, p.81-96.
FAIRCLOUGH, N. Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London:
Routledge, 2003.
FAIRCLOUGH, N.; MELO, I. Análise Crítica do Discurso como método em pesquisa
social científica. Linha D’Água, v. 25, n. 2, p.307-329, 10 dez. 2012.
[Link] Acesso em 19/06/2021.
MASCARO, A. L. Estado e forma política. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2013, p.19-21.
MUNANGA, K. Uma abordagem conceitual das noções de raça, racismo, identidade e
etnia. In: Programa de educação sobre o negro na sociedade brasileira [S.l: s.n.], 2004.

Bakhtiniana, São Paulo, 16 (3): 187-194, July/Sept. 2021. 193

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VOLÓCHINOV, V. (Círculo de Bakhtin). Marxismo e filosofia da linguagem: problemas
fundamentais do método sociológico na ciência da linguagem. 1. ed. Tradução de
Sheila Grillo e Ekaterina Vólkova Américo. São Paulo: Editora 34, 2017 [1929].

Translated by Janaina de Aquino – janainadeaquino@[Link]

Received July 21,2020

Accepted May 17,2021

194 Bakhtiniana, São Paulo, 16 (3): 187-194, July/Sept. 2021.

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