Highlighting our Brazilian Partner, Paulo Da Silva

Who: Dr. Paulo Da Silva, Portuguese Editor for the U.S. Department of State

Why The African Diaspora: “53.6% of Brazilians identify themselves as brown (pardo – mixed race) or black (preto), compared to 45.5% who say they are White. And that number of self-identified blacks should continue to increase. Despite their growing pride, Afro-Brazilians are torn between being proud of their race/ethnicity and the different reality that each ethnic group is confronted in the country. Statistically, Afro-Brazilians are the main victims of all kinds of violence. Lighter- and darker-skinned Brazilians continue to experience incredible gaps in terms of income, schooling, health, and other indicators. In 2004, 73.2% of those living in poverty were Negros, a figure that increased to 76% in 2014. This indicates that three out of four people in the country's poorest 10% group are black. It goes without saying that ADC’s focus on education, economy and arts will have a tremendous impact on the lives of Afro-descendants within the countries it is working on. A lot more needs to be done in these areas, especially in my native country of Brazil. Education, economy and arts are crucial for economic and social progress everywhere in the world.”

Why ADC: “From the start, it was clear that ADC’s goal of creating partnerships among countries of the African Diaspora, and its inclusion of my native country of Brazil, were aspects that made me consider this opportunity compelling and extremely important.”