Professor Djamila Ribeiro receives honorary citizenship of Ribeirão Preto

Redação

August 18, 2025

Ribeirão Preto witnessed a historic evening on Saturday, August 16. During a lecture on the stage of Theatro Pedro II, at the opening of the 24th edition of the International Book Fair (FIL), Professor Djamila Ribeiro was awarded honorary citizenship of the city. Honored as one of the central figures of this year’s edition, Djamila was given a standing ovation by a packed audience.

The honor was proposed by councilwoman Duda Hidalgo (PT). “You chose not to keep knowledge confined to academia. You are also a popular educator, because you decided to spread this knowledge and turn your words into struggle, immortalizing them in books.”

In her speech, Djamila recalled the silencing she faced throughout her academic journey. “When I questioned my professors about the absence of female voices, about the absence of Black voices, I was told that this was not philosophy,” said the Brazilian philosopher, currently a visiting scholar at MIT.

Her statement opened space for a reflection on the erasure of Black thought in university curricula. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t read the Global North. Quite the opposite. I’m saying we need to stop placing Europe or the United States at the center,” she affirmed, emphasizing the importance of collective work to amplify historically marginalized perspectives. “Lugar de Fala (Place of Speech), my first book, published in 2017, was born within a collection. Because it didn’t make sense to come alone. Since then, there have been 14 titles in the Feminismos Plurais collection and, counting all titles under the Sueli Carneiro publishing label, 27 books have been released — all written by Black authors. This is the commitment we need to make, to our own production,” she concluded.

Tribute in series

On social media, FIL released a special series about Djamila, hosted by journalism student Mirella Archangelo. Over the course of three episodes, Mirella interviewed local leaders, educators, and entrepreneurs about the influence of Djamila’s ideas on their personal and professional journeys.

Possible Futures

The theme of this year’s FIL was Possible Futures. Commenting on the choice of Djamila Ribeiro as an honoree, curator Adriana Silva noted that “it is not possible to speak of the future without speaking of ancestry.”

In Ribeirão Preto’s public schools, Djamila’s works are already part of pedagogical activities focused on discussing racism in Brazil — and its intersections.

The tributes paid in Ribeirão Preto reaffirm Djamila Ribeiro’s role as an intellectual reference for a present that envisions futures based on collectivity and critical thought.