Brazilians and Race in Chicago. Jefferson Belarmino, holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) It is common to hear in Brazil that white Brazilians are not white in the USA. What can sociology say about this? What about the Black Brazilians? Historically, the big field of race relations has not paid attention to the meaning of race as it applies to Brazilians who immigrate to the United States.