In Her Birthday Month, Professor Djamila Ribeiro Is One of the Honorees at the 24th Ribeirão Preto International Book Fair
From August 15 to 24, Ribeirão Preto, in the state of São Paulo, will once again be a meeting point for readers, authors, and artists at the 24th edition of the Ribeirão Preto International Book Fair (Feira Internacional do Livro de Ribeirão Preto – FIL), which in 2024 welcomed 250,000 people to more than 400 activities. This year, one of the honorees is Professor Djamila Ribeiro, internationally recognized as one of the most influential voices of Black feminism in the Global South.
Under the theme Possible Futures: Between Lines and Paragraphs, inspired by the ideas of Italian sociologist Domenico de Masi, the FIL invites the public to reflect on literature as fertile ground for imagining and collectively building new realities. The proposal stems from the conviction that the future is not built solely on technical or economic progress, but above all on the ability to imagine—individually and collectively—other ways of living. This is a perspective inherent in Djamila’s intellectual work and her defense of writing as a tool for social transformation and for questioning the structures that sustain historical inequalities.
Her first appearance will be at the opening ceremony on August 15 at 8 p.m. at Theatro Pedro II, alongside the other honorees of this edition: Domenico de Masi (in memoriam), filmmaker André Luiz Oliveira, and writer Matheus Arcaro. On the following day, August 16 at 7 p.m., also at Theatro Pedro II, she will take part in A Meeting with Djamila Ribeiro, a session in which the Brazilian philosopher will discuss central themes of her work, such as Black feminism, place of speech, and anti-racism. The schedule will conclude on Saturday, August 17 at 3 p.m., on the Theatro Pedro II Esplanade, with a book signing.
Tributes from the FIL Have Already Begun Online
On FIL’s Instagram profile, tributes to Professor Djamila Ribeiro have already begun. In a video about her journey, led by journalism student Mirella Archangelo, businesswoman Angélica Pires highlights the impact of seeing “a Black Brazilian woman talking about philosophy” as an act of representation and rupture. Entrepreneur Yú Souza, creator of the Resenha Preta project, shares that reading Who’s Afraid of Black Feminism? was decisive for her self-recognition and her search for new authors.
With free admission, the FIL is organized by the Ribeirão Preto Book and Reading Foundation, with support from Sesc São Paulo and Senac São Paulo. More than a literary celebration, the 24th Ribeirão Preto International Book Fair is an invitation to imagine and to write towards the futures we wish to live.
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August, a Special Month
On August 1—the opening date of the month dedicated to Obaluaiê, the orixá of healing, the earth, and silence—Professor Djamila Ribeiro celebrated another year of life.
On her Instagram profile, Djamila spoke of the date as a link between spiritual forces that transcend continents.
In addition to marking the month of Obaluaiê, it is also the Day of Pachamama, the earth goddess revered by Andean communities. In 2023, the thinker took part in Pachamama celebrations in Argentina, as a gesture of connection with the plurality of traditions that honor the earth, care, and community.
“It’s beautiful to know that our existence impacts so many others,” she wrote, thanking her followers for the hundreds of messages she received.
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