Joao - Race in USA and Brazil

On july 15th we had a class with Dr Robinson in which the theme of race relations were discussed and analysed through the perspective from the USA beginning as a nation and how it is in the present time.
 First, what have drawn my attention was the fact that thisrace issue was deliberstely planned in order to keep people of color or other non european white people out of the core of the nation. This can be noticed with the natives, latin and asian in general. Reflecting upon that I could notice that in Brazil, we had in similar approach in which we kept those non european ones out of the decisions of the country. There was even a name given for those actions were lighting the people of country when they stimulate white europeans settlers to come to Brazil to work as farmers. However, as soon as they got there, they realized that they would not be farmers, they would be peasants working to pay their duties back as they did not have money to set their own farms or crops. This made integration harder, what helped keep those 'different' ones out of the society, creating an outcast group within the country.
A striking sentence mentioned by Dr Robinson citing katznelson was " affirmative action was white" just the same as what was placed in my own country. The question I posed for reflection and it was the one I asked him is how we translate to those guys who nurture this division that the strengths to country comes from being together and not the opposite. For him and for my understanding this is an unanswered question. Yet, I will reflect about it with my students in my english classes as a way of helping ourselves understand it better.