Where We Stand

by Djamila Ribeiro, Padma Viswanathan (Contribution by), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Contribution by), Lisa Reneé Pitts (Read by)

Overview

The instant bestseller from Djamila Ribeiro that sparked a major Black feminist movement in Brazil
 
In a society shaped by the legacies of enslavement, white supremacy, and sexism, who has the right to a voice? In this elegant essay, Djamila Ribeiro offers a compelling intervention into contemporary discussions of power and identity: the concept of “speaking place.” A crucial component of conversations on race and gender in Brazil, speaking place is the idea that everyone has a social position in the world and that what we are able to say, and how it is received by others, depends on it. Ribeiro traces the history of Black feminist thought through several centuries, examining the ways that Black women have been silenced, ignored, and punished for speaking.
 
Building on feminist standpoint theory, and in conversation with the works of Sojourner Truth, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and others, Ribeiro invites all of us to recognize where we stand, to imagine geographies different from those we’ve inherited, and to speak a more humane world into being.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798228006867
Publisher:	Tantor
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Djamila Ribeiro is a philosopher, essayist, editor, and one of the most influential leaders in the Afro-Brazilian women's rights movement.

Lisa Renee Pitts is an award-winning actress in theater, television, and film, as well as an accomplished audiobook narrator. She has been seen Off-Broadway, in Europe, and in regional theaters across the United States, performing leading roles in such prominent plays as A Raisin in the Sun, Doubt, Waiting for
Lefty, Valley Song, and Our Town. Her television appearances include The Shield and Law and Order, and she played the recurring role of Allison Sawyer on the hit family drama Lincoln Heights for the ABC Family Channel. Lisa's audiobook titles include biographies, fiction, nonfiction and children's novels, including Pushkin and the Queen of Spades by Alice Randall, for which she won an AudioFile Earphones Award for excellence in narration. Other notable titles are Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza, Better Than I Know Myself by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, and My Name Is Not Angelica by Scott O'Dell. Lisa is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she received her B.F.A. in Theater Arts. She lives in Burbank, California.

Padma Viswanathan is a novelist, nonfiction writer, and translator.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novelist and nonfiction writer.

Editorial Reviews

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

“Part theory, part manifesto, part history of Black feminist thought. . . . [Where We Stand] has the makings of a truly modern feminist classic.”—Literary Hub, “Most Anticipated Books of 2024”

“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

From the Publisher