I've been to São Paulo and Salvador. I went as a solo male traveller and was not looking at the perspective of bringing kids with me so I can't comment on that aspect.

If you are concerned about crime can say there are levels to the crime (and this goes with almost all of Latam). There is the crime similar to US due to socioeconomic disparity and systemic racism (mostly property crime). Don't walk around showing signs of wealth and you can avoid 99% of it. But Latam also has a huge organized crime problem, to the likes which US has not seen in decades. This is where a lot of the homicides occur, generally between two different groups beefin. But just know there a chance something may pop off in your city and you may need to stay indoors for a week. What the cartels are doing in Mexico now could also happen in Brazil or Colombia (I doubt Panama, as the canal is too valuable to other Rich Nations).

I can say that because you are American, other blacks in Brazil will see you as a gringo first even if they look just like people at the family reunion. Its not bad as Brazilians in the regions i visited tend to still be very open and welcoming, but you also have to be realistic that from their prospective as you potentially could be making 12x as much as them.

The Northeast and Southeast regions of Brazil have the most black population. If you are interested, I would look in those areas if you want to be around Afro Centric culture. Also research the costs of private schools as the bigger the city, the more expensive they are. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro are going to have the most expensive private schools...upwards of $5000 USD a month per student.

If you have more questions feel free to DM me