Many visitors to Brazil still arrive believing in the melting pot, and for that matter many leave without questioning it. It is undeniable that Brazil has remarkably little in the way of obvious racial tension ; that there are no legal forms of racial discrimination; and that on the beach the races do seem to mix freely. But it is equally undeniable that race is a key factor in determining social position. Institutional racism, born of prejudice and stereotyping, affects access to education, employment opportunities and the treatment of black people within the criminal justice system, manifested most notably in day-to-day harassment and violence from the police. To say this in Brazil, even now, is to risk being attacked as "un-Brazilian". Nevertheless, the idea that race has had no significant effect on social mobility and that socio-economic differentials of a century ago explain current differences between races is increasingly discredited. It is true that Brazil is a rigidly stratified society within which upward mobility is difficult for anyone. But the lighter your skin, the easier it appears to be. Clear evidence has been produced that, although in general blacks and mulattos (because of the continuing cycle of poverty) have lower education levels than whites, even when they do have equal levels of education and experience whites still enjoy substantial economic benefits. The average income for white Brazilians is twice that for black, and while there is a growing black Brazilian middle class, it is concentrated in the arts, music and sports - black people are still hugely under-represented in the middle and upper ranks of politics, business and industry. Perhaps the most surprising realization is that, except amongst politically developed intellectuals and progressive sectors of the Church, there seems little awareness or resentment of the link between colour and class. The black consciousness movement has made slow progress in Brazil - although grassroots community groups and national coalitions of organizations representing black people have emerged over the past decade or two - and most people continue to acquiesce before the national myth that this is the New World's fortunate land, where there's no need to organize for improved status