Undesirable People: How Black Immigrants Jeopardize Brazilian's Plan of Whitening

This paper examines the Brazilian historical rejection of black immigrants, starting from the 19th century and continuing through the 20th century until 2010, when a wave of Haitian immigrants caused great debate among Brazilians, divided into those who rejected what they considered an undesirable immigration and those who argued for a more humanitarian reception of immigrants escaping from hardship exacerbated by the earthquake. The first important wave of black immigrants – post slavery – arrived in Brazil between 1900 and 1915, during the implementation of projects of modernization in the Rain Forest region. Those Caribbean immigrants entered Brazil despite the prohibition, some illegally, some as immigrant workers under temporary contracts. Their presence, although not significant in numbers, has left its mark on the history of places like Manaus, Belem and Porto Velho.