About
Djamila Ribeiro holds a degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Political Philosophy from the Federal University of São Paulo. She is the coordinator of Feminismos Plurais, which includes Espaço Feminismos Plurais, the online platform Feminismos Plurais, and the Sueli Carneiro publishing imprint, which publishes the Feminismos Plurais book collection.
She is the author of *Lugar de Fala* (Jandaíra/Feminismos Plurais), *Who’s Afraid of Black Feminism?*, *Little Anti-Racist Manual*, and *Letters to My Grandmother* (Companhia das Letras), as well as *Transatlantic Dialogues* (Éditions Anacaona), translated into several languages. She is also a visiting professor at New York University (NYU) and at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP).
Since 2022, she has held chair no. 28 at the São Paulo Academy of Letters and serves on the boards of the Padre Anchieta Foundation, the São Paulo Pinacoteca, and the USP Endowment Fund. A columnist for the newspaper *Folha de S. Paulo*, she served as Deputy Secretary of Human Rights of São Paulo in 2016. She was awarded the 2019 Prince Claus Prize, granted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and was recognized by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women in the world.
In 2020, she won the Jabuti Prize, the most important award in Brazilian literature, in the Humanities category for *Little Anti-Racist Manual*. In 2021, she became the first Brazilian person in history to be honored by the BET Awards, granted by the African American community in the United States. In 2023, she received the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights.
Introduction
As coordinator of the Sueli Carneiro imprint, in partnership with Editora Jandaíra, she has published texts and books by more than 80 Black women and men authors. The imprint is an independent project aimed at publishing Black authors—especially women—from Brazil and Latin America, as well as democratizing the knowledge of these historically marginalized social groups.
The Feminismos Plurais Collection is part of the imprint and publishes critical themes written by Black authors at accessible prices and in popular language. The book format—small, didactic, and distributed at cultural events organized by the Collection—has broken publishing market paradigms and become a major success, with hundreds of thousands of copies sold.
*Lugar de Fala*, the first book in the Collection and written by Djamila, was published in November 2017. Since its release, it has appeared among the best-selling titles on major publishing lists. It ranked second in sales at the Feira Literária de Paraty (FLIP) in 2018, the largest literary festival in Brazil, which was considered a historic achievement for an independent publishing imprint. In 2019, *Lugar de Fala* ranked ninth at FLIP, remaining among the bestsellers for two consecutive years—another milestone in Brazilian literary history. It also reached first place in sales at dozens of literary fairs, such as FLICA, FLUP, the Porto Alegre Literary Festival, FLIPELÔ, among others.
At Companhia das Letras, Djamila is the author of three books. *Who’s Afraid of Black Feminism?*, published in 2018, brings together her chronicles published over the years in CartaCapital and frequently appears among bookstore and literary fair bestsellers. Her texts are included in numerous primary and secondary school teaching materials throughout the country and are key references in anti-racist and feminist debates.
In November 2019, *Little Anti-Racist Manual* was published, her most prominent book, remaining for more than 100 weeks on Veja magazine’s bestseller list. The book contains 11 chapters addressing topics such as contemporary racism, Black identity, whiteness, racial violence, culture, desires and affections, as well as a glossary of Black authors. In February 2021, she reached the milestone of 500,000 books sold in Brazil.
In *Letters to My Grandmother* (2021), Djamila revisits her memories through letters addressed to her grandmother Antônia, reflecting on her childhood, adolescence, and the challenges of adulthood. The book also appears among bestsellers.
*Transatlantic Dialogues*, her fifth book, brings together exchanges between Djamila and Nadia Yala, professor at Université Paris 8. Published in France by Éditions Anacaona in 2020, it is scheduled for publication in Brazil by Bazar do Tempo in 2024.
On September 1, 2022, she was inducted into chair no. 28 of the São Paulo Academy of Letters, succeeding Lygia Fagundes Telles. She became the youngest academic among her contemporaries and the second Black woman in history to hold a chair, after Ruth Guimarães.
Djamila Ribeiro and Editorial Work
In partnership with editor Lizandra Magon, she coordinates the Sueli Carneiro imprint. Among the publications are *Sueli Carneiro: Writings of a Life* and *Ó Paí Prezada: Racism and Sexism Riding the Tram in Women’s Prisons* by Carla Akotirene.
In 2020, *Quilombola Women*, coordinated by Selma Dealdina with support from CONAQ, was published. In 2021, the imprint released its first translation: *Black Power* by Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), with a foreword by Bokar Ture.
Other publications include:
*A New History, Made of Stories* (2021);
*Quilombola Education* (2022);
the Okán Dùdù series, launched with *Axé: The Power to Make It Happen* by Rodney William;
*Black Resistance to the Project of Racial Exclusion – Brazil 200 Years* (2022).
In 2023, she published the translation of *Estuary Waters* by Vélia Vidal.
In 2024, she became coordinator of the *Global South Feminisms* imprint at Record (Rosa dos Tempos), which announced *Dalit Feminism*.
International Work
The Collection’s works have been translated and published in France (Éditions Anacaona), Spain, and Italy (Capovolte Edizioni).
In 2022, she toured France, Belgium, and Germany.
She participated in the Turin Book Fair.
She delivered lectures at Berkeley, Duke, Harvard, Oxford, LSE, among others.
In 2023, she was a keynote speaker at the United Nations General Assembly during the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
In 2024, her work was published in Portugal by Editorial Caminho, under the direction of Zeferino Coelho.
Espaço Feminismos Plurais
Founded in April 2022, Espaço Feminismos Plurais is dedicated to the orixá Iansã and offers holistic support to women, including psychological, therapeutic, dental, and legal assistance, as well as economic empowerment initiatives.
Located at Avenida Chibarás, 666, Moema, São Paulo, the space has already welcomed more than one thousand women.
Feminismos Plurais Platform
Launched in 2020, the platform offers audiovisual courses on Black feminism and racial studies. It is considered the largest streaming platform for racial and feminist studies in the country.
Djamila Ribeiro and the Brazilian Press
Featured in O Globo, Estadão, Valor Econômico, Forbes, ELLE, Vogue, among others.
Columnist for Folha de S. Paulo since 2019 and contributor to Der Spiegel since 2022.
Recipient of numerous awards, including Cidadã SP and the Brás Cubas Medal.
Djamila Ribeiro and the Institutional and Corporate Sphere
In 2024, she joined the Board of the Padre Anchieta Foundation, the Board of Directors of the São Paulo Pinacoteca, and the USP Endowment Fund.
She created the course *Anti-Racist Sport: Everyone Wins* for the Brazilian Olympic delegation in Tokyo.
She served on L’Oréal’s International Diversity Board (2021–2023) and collaborates with YouTube and Abraji.
Social Actions
Tens of thousands of books donated to schools, libraries, and communities.
Donation of 10,000 copies to public education.
Donation of 10,000 bottles of hand sanitizer during the pandemic.
Djamila as an Activist
Former Deputy Secretary of Human Rights of São Paulo (2016).
Filed a lawsuit against Twitter for racism and misogyny.
Participated in the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court’s campaign against disinformation.
Where We Stand
In 2024, *Lugar de Fala* was published in English under the title *Where We Stand*, translated by Yale University Press.
Foreword by Chimamanda Adichie and endorsements from Patricia Hill Collins, Ibram X. Kendi, Linda Alcoff, Priyamvada Gopal, and Kia Lilly Caldwell.