Week 6: Rights and Liberalism
This week's reading posed an interesting comparison between North and South America. Initially, it seemed as though North America had some version of high ground due to the lack of participation in the slave trade in comparison to southern neighbors. Yet that seemed to be completely unaligned with the history I have learned about the United States. I found it really interesting how race and slavery were so intertwined. The United States created an impossible situation for people of color as their entire identity was based upon the history of slavery. When freed slaves visited Brazil they felt a better sense of equality than at home. I wondered what this actually looked like in practice. What was day to day life like for a person of color in Rio? While both were clearly immoral and abominable in the treatment of people of color it's quite interesting to try and understand each country in the context of the other. I also found it interesting to read Latin American feminist acco