Djamila Ribeiro marks four years at the Academia Paulista de Letras

Elected to Chair 28 in 2022, the philosopher succeeded Lygia Fagundes Telles and became the second Black woman to join the institution

This September marks four years since Djamila Ribeiro joined the Academia Paulista de Letras (São Paulo Academy of Letters). Inducted into Chair 28 on September 1, 2022, the Brazilian philosopher became the second Black woman to join the institution, after Ruth Guimarães, and its youngest member.

That distinction gave particular meaning to the theme she chose for her induction speech: time. Djamila recalled starting college at 28, graduating at 32, completing her master’s degree at 35 and publishing her first book at 37. A path that had once been viewed as late stood in contrast to her arrival at the Academy.

“Time is sovereign, and serenity is something earned,” she said at the close of her speech.

The ceremony also gave form to references that are part of her identity. Djamila entered to the sound of aguerê, a ritual rhythm for Oxóssi, accompanied by atabaque drums and members of her terreiro community. For the occasion, she wore a dress inspired by one worn by Whitney Houston at the 1991 Billboard Music Awards.

“It was a beautiful induction ceremony. I brought my Axé, honored Oxóssi, entered to the sound of aguerê, dressed in tribute to my diva Whitney Houston, and arrived as myself,” she wrote in a post marking the anniversary.

The reference to the American singer also appeared in her speech. Djamila said that, while in college, she sometimes concealed part of her taste for pop culture because of expectations about what counted as highbrow.

Her induction represented the possibility of entering a traditional literary institution without separating the different inspirations that have shaped her intellectual formation.

The memory of women who had occupied the Academy before her also ran through the ceremony. Djamila paid tribute to Ruth Guimarães and devoted part of her speech to Lygia Fagundes Telles, her predecessor in Chair 28.

Both references placed her arrival within the Academy’s own history, marked by the continuity of a literary chair as well as the growing presence of Black women within the institution.

Her induction was also documented by Ignácio de Loyola Brandão. In A grandeza de Djamila (The Greatness of Djamila), published after the ceremony, the writer recalled his relationship with Ruth Guimarães and described the occasion as a moment when “academies bow before reality.”

Four years later, Djamila remains the holder of Chair 28 and, in reflecting on the anniversary, returned to the theme that shaped her induction speech.

“I continue to engage with time, this continuous, beautiful spiral, trying to understand its mysteries,” she posted.

Translated by AI