Afro-Brazilians

Afro-Brazilians (Portuguese: afro-brasileiros; pronounced [ˈafɾo bɾaziˈle(j)ɾus]) are Brazilians who have predominantly sub-Saharan African ancestry (see "preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or pardos, may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Depending on the circumstances (situation, locality, etc.), the ones whose African features are more evident are always or frequently seen by others as "africans" - consequently identifying themselves as such, while the ones for whom this evidence is lesser may not be seen as such as regularly. It is important to note that the term pardo, such as preto, is rarely used outside the census spectrum. Brazilian society has a range of words, including negro itself, to describe multiracial people.

Preto and pardo are among five ethnic categories used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, along with branco ("white"), amarelo ("yellow", ethnic East Asian), and indígena (Native American). In 2010, 14.5 million Brazilians (approximately 8% of the Brazilian population) identified as preto, while 82 million (43% of the population) identified as pardo. Brazilians have a complex classification system based on the prominence of skin and hair pigmentation, as well as other features associated with the concept of race (raça).

Since the early 21st century, Brazilian government agencies such as the Special Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality (SEPPIR) and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), have considered combining the categories preto and pardo (individual with varied racial ancestries) into a single category called negro (Black), because both groups show socioeconomic indications of discrimination. They suggest doing so would make it easier to help people who have been closed out of opportunity. This proposal has caused much controversy because a large portion of pardos are caboclos or mestiços, who are descendants of indigenous people, constituting the majority of the population in many parts of the country. By lumping pardos and pretos into a single category, it essentially erases Brazilian mestiços and Brazil's indigenous ancestry. Nevertheless, there is no consensus about it in Brazilian society.

Brazilians rarely use the American-style phrase "African Brazilian" as a term of ethnic identity and never in informal discourse: the IBGE's July 1998 PME shows that, of Black Brazilians, only about 10% identify as being of "African origin"; most identify as being of "Brazilian origin". In the July 1998 PME, the categories Afro-Brasileiro (Afro-Brazilian) and Africano Brasileiro (African Brazilian) were not chosen at all; the category Africano (African) was selected by 0.004% of the respondents. In the 1976 National Household Sample (PNAD), none of these terms was used even once.

Brazilian geneticist Sérgio Pena has criticised American scholar Edward Telles for lumping pretos and pardos in the same category. According to him, "the autosomal genetic analysis that we have performed in non-related individuals from Rio de Janeiro shows that it does not make any sense to put pretos and pardos in the same category". An autosomal genetic study of students in a school in the poor periphery of Rio de Janeiro found that the pardos among the students were found to be on average more than 40% European in ancestry. Before testing, the students identified (when asked) as ⅓ European, ⅓ African and ⅓ Native American.

According to Edward Telles, three different systems related to "racial classification" along the White-Black continuum are used in Brazil. The first is the Census System, which distinguishes three categories: branco (White), pardo, and preto. The second is the popular social system that uses many different categories, including the ambiguous term moreno (literally meaning "tanned", "brunette", or "with an olive complexion"). The third is the Black movement, which distinguishes only two categories, summing up pardos and pretos ("blacks", lowercase) as negros ("Blacks", with capital initial), and putting all others as "whites". More recently, the term afrodescendente has been adopted for use, but it is restricted to very formal discourse, such as governmental or academic discussions, being viewed by some as a cultural imposition from the "politically correct speech" associated with the United States.