“Racism is a public health emergency of global concern.” Since we wrote these words
in June, 2020, a monumental worldwide reckoning with racism, xenophobia, and discrimination
in society its roots, its consequences, and its redress has gathered pace. Marches
have taken place and statues have been toppled, activists galvanised and institutions
investigated, reforms proposed and elections contested. Progress has been uneven,
but interrogation of the power structures that prejudice and mistreat specific groups
of people while privileging others has heightened an acknowledgment of racism and
its harms hatred, intolerance, and discrimination kill.
Purê de mandioca, or yuca purée, made with an indigenous Brazilian root vegetable, takes the place of mashed potatoes for some expats during the holiday.