Security of the Brazilian Black Population: How the Judiciary System Responds to Individual and Institutional Episodes of Racial Violence

The project addresses racial violence and the Judiciary, and its goal is to expose dynamic practices of structural racism in the Brazilian Judiciary. Episodes of racial violence – racist speech, racist insults, and institutional racism – play a central role in the symbolic repetition and the legitimization of the scenario of racial inequalities, although their seriousness is generally minimized, both socially and by the justice. This quantitative-qualitative survey of databases from seven state courts in the five regions of the country aims to disclose racial patterns within the judiciary. Therefore, we will analyze second instance decisions relating to four sets of lawsuits:

1) Criminal acts of racism, discrimination, or racial injury, as well as police inquiries in São Paulo, through a partnership with DECRADI (Police Station for Racial Crimes and Intolerance Offenses);

2) Moral damages filed in civil justice by black people, for suffering racism, discrimination, or racial injury, or for being victims of violence by agents of police forces;

3) Criminals for whom the concept of "founded suspicion" is discussed; and

4) Criminal and civil racial discrimination on the internet.

The second step of this research will focus on multiple case studies of police violence, to expose patterns of racial bias and impunity of police and authorities.