Where We Stand

Djamila Ribeiro is a philosopher, essayist, editor, and one of the most influential leaders in the Afro-Brazilian women’s rights movement. Padma Viswanathan is a novelist, nonfiction writer, and translator. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novelist and nonfiction writer.

“A manifesto on an individual’s social standing and its effect on what is said as well as what is heard. Those seeking a way to decolonize discussions of gender equality will find this slim volume rewarding.”—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times“Djamila Ribeiro’s influential book Where We Stand boldly claims a space for Black feminism in Brazil. This long-awaited translation offers new audiences a rare opportunity to encounter the rich ideas of an emerging generation of Black women academics and activists who are fearless in pushing for social change.”—Patricia Hill Collins, author of Black Feminist Thought“Black women are told, like the rest of us, to speak truth to power. But Where We Stand examines how their speaking truth is marginalized since their ‘speaking place’ is marginalized, causing Black women to create novel ways to confront power with their truth. What a fascinating and compelling treatise on Black women’s intellectual battles by Djamila Ribeiro, one of my favorite Brazilian thinkers.”—Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, #1 New York Times bestseller“This is a major work by an accomplished theorist and academic activist who is helping to change academic life in Brazil. Ribeiro articulates in a clear and compelling way the concept of ‘speaking place’ as a transnational approach to intersectional feminist theory. I learned so much from this book.”—Linda Martín Alcoff, City University of New York“A finely argued case for remapping our understanding of feminism itself through the vital contributions of Black feminist thought. In this lucent translation, Ribeiro’s work brings home the richness and range of Black feminism from the Global South, still too often occluded from discussion.”—Priyamvada Gopal, author of Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent“Where We Stand offers a tour-de-force analysis of Black feminist thought that crosses linguistic and national boundaries. This important and much-needed book highlights the brilliance of Black Brazilian feminists, making their political and intellectual interventions available in English. In light of ongoing translation asymmetries between the Global North and Global South, this too is a political act. By highlighting the continued significance of voice and social location, Ribeiro reminds us that centering Black women’s experiences, identities, and thinking is critical to dismantling present-day structures of oppression and inequality.”—Kia Lilly Caldwell, author of Negras in Brazil and Health Equity in Brazil