Afro-Brazilian Entrepreneurship As Resistance to Anti-Blackness in São Paulo, Brazil
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Doing Business in the Black: Afro-Brazilian Entrepreneurship as Resistance to Anti-Blackness in São Paulo, Brazil By Demetrius Miles Murphy Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Latin American Studies May 10, 2018 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Christy L. Erving, PhD Gabriel A. Torres Colón, PhD To Ms. Charles for your endless love, support, and for believing a little Black boy from Gary could be a scientist ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I must express my gratitude to the Afro-Brazilian entrepreneurs that shared their stories with me. Their critiques of structural racism and their mounted entrepreneurial responses encourage me to continue the struggle for freedom and social justice particularly in entrepreneurial ways. I am eternally indebted to Adriana Barbosa for connecting me with many of the participants in my study. Without her, this study does not exist. I have to acknowledge Danie Dorvil and Danuza Novaes for facilitating amazing experiences in Brazil, almost every single day was an adventure. Moreover, I am grateful to Danuza for showing me São Paulo through the experiences of Black Brazilians, particularly ones concerned with making Brazil a better place. I am immensely appreciative of the Center for Latin American Studies and all of the staff, who supported me greatly throughout my time at Vanderbilt. I would like to thank Dr. Jane Landers, who inspired me to consider maroon communities in the Americas across time and space. I would also like to thank Dr. Celso Castilho and Dr. Marshall Eakin for strongly encouraging me to study Brazil. In order to study Brazil, I had to speak Portuguese which without Dr. Benjamin Legg and Dr. Emanuelle Oliveira-Monte wouldn’t have been possible. I will always be indebted to them for giving me the gift of Portuguese. A thesis is never completed without a system of support. The night I thought I was going to give up on writing my thesis you gave me a juice box and helped me reframe my argument. You da real MVP, thank you, Mariann VanDevere. I am grateful to Abraham Liddell, Kevin Lubin, Magana Kabugi, and Webster Heath for enabling me to build community with successful Black male graduate students. I admire you all. To my Peabody crew, Marlena Debreaux, Misha Inniss-Thompson, and Jonathan Williford, I will never forget how much you all celebrated me for big and small wins. I appreciate each of you for openly showing me compassion in the iii simplest acts. I am unable to express how grateful I am to Kymberly Byrd for introducing me to the Peabody crew. I haven’t met many people by happenstance that have completely changed my life. Kymberly, you have made an indelible mark on my heart. Big shout out to the men’s club volleyball team for providing a space and time weekly to not work on my thesis! To my advisors, Dr. Christy L. Erving and Dr. Gabriel A. Torres Colón Torres, I respect and admire you both. You all have set the example for the type of professor and scholar I want to be. Over the last two years, you all have helped me transform my thesis from an idea into a finished project; and, during the process, I have become a more critical thinker and better writer. For your never-ending patience, encouraging words, and tender support, I am both appreciative and indebted. Although, I am unable to pay it back, I will always pay it forward. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends. To the Benn Torres family, thank you for allowing me to become the newest member of the family. When I couldn’t see my own family, you all provide me with love, food, shelter, and many many beers, what more can one require. To my brother and daddy, thanks for moving me four different times, I couldn’t have done it without you all! To my mom, granny and sister, thank you for being my inspiration; all that I am, or hope to be, I owe to them. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Background: Previous Ethnic Entrepreneurship Research .............................................................. 2 Black Entrepreneurship in The U.S. ................................................................................................ 4 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................... 6 Black Life in Brazil .......................................................................................................................... 9 Black Entrepreneurship in Brazil .................................................................................................. 11 Fieldsite/Research Design/Methodology ........................................................................................ 16 Positionality Statement ...................................................................................................................................... 19 GeneralizaBility ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Starting a Black Business in Brazil ................................................................................................ 20 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 1: Product ............................................................................................................... 26 Ebony English ................................................................................................................................................... 26 Conta Black ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 Aneesa ............................................................................................................................................................... 30 Niggaz Place ...................................................................................................................................................... 32 Think Etnus ....................................................................................................................................................... 34 Rap Burguer ...................................................................................................................................................... 35 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 2: Labor .................................................................................................................. 39 Xongani ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 Free Soul Food .................................................................................................................................................. 44 Atrium ............................................................................................................................................................... 48 Cooper Glicério ................................................................................................................................................. 52 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 3: Aquilombamento ................................................................................................. 55 Physical Quilombos ....................................................................................................................... 57 Aparelha Luzia .................................................................................................................................................. 57 Terça Afro ......................................................................................................................................................... 59 Traveling Quilombos ..................................................................................................................... 61 Diaspora.Black .................................................................................................................................................. 61 Feira Preta ......................................................................................................................................................... 63 Virtual Quilombos ......................................................................................................................... 67 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 71 Discussion/Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 72 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 78 APPENDIX 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