🧬 The story told by Brazilian DNA

Findings from a new genomic study contain important lessons about Brazil’s past and could have important ramifications for science going forward

HERITAGE

Everyone knew Brazil was racially diverse; a new study took that to a new level

A decade ago, photographer Angélica Dass shot volunteers of different skin tones, and matched a square of 11 pixels from their noses to a corresponding shade in the industrial palette Pantone to expose – and subvert – racial prejudices. Photo: CNI

A decade ago, photographer Angélica Dass shot volunteers of different skin tones, and matched a square of 11 pixels from their noses to a corresponding shade in the industrial palette Pantone to expose – and subvert – racial prejudices. Photo: CNI

In 2020, the newsroom of The Brazilian Report ran a modest experiment: we all took a DNA test. As a team covering a country as multifaceted as Brazil, we thought we’d see that diversity reflected in our genes.

Instead, what came back told us something more unsettling — and more profound. 

While our team is almost entirely Brazilian, our ancestry skewed overwhelmingly European. Our social condition can explain that: we are college-educated and multilingual, which are often class determinants. Four people who were in the team then remain with us:

I am 82% European; Lucas Berti, our Latin America reporter, clocked in at 91%. Meanwhile, my French co-founder Laura Quirin and Scottish deputy editor Euan Marshall were 100% European. Lucas and I only had 3% and 4% indigenous ancestry, respectively.

In light of new findings published in Science last week, our DNA results feel like a microcosm of Brazil’s enduring inequities.

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