Angela Davis, Icon of Black Feminism, Comes to Brazil in October

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An icon of black feminism, philosopher and activist Angela Davis will come to Brazil in October to take part in lectures, courses and to release her 2019 book “An Autobiography”. The writer will visit São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

In the São Paulo capital, the North American’s first stop, Angela will close the conference entitled “A liberdade é uma luta constante” (Freedom is a constant struggle), of the international seminar “Democracia em Colapso?” (Democracy in Collapse?), promoted by Boitempo publishing house and Sesc São Paulo. The event will be held on October 19th.

Angela Davis will also hold a conference at the Ibirapuera Auditorium on October 21st and will close her visit to the country on October 23rd, in Rio de Janeiro, where she will be hosting a conference and receiving the Tiradentes Medal, awarded by the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ).

A story of struggle

A woman, black, feminist, Marxist, intellectual, activist. In the early 1970s, Angela Davis was everything the U.S. establishment feared the most. She firmly faced harsh and insidious persecution: she was on the FBI’s most-wanted list.

At 28, she wrote the compelling autobiography that Boitempo is publishing in Brazil for the first time, to recount her life from childhood to beginning a university career, and her commitment against the oppression of race, gender, and class. More than an account of the youth of an icon in contemporary history, this book intertwines social struggles and a personal trajectory to induce a reflection on the structurally violent nature of the prison system, of machismo and racism, a screed for the right to dignity and emancipation.

Author of several books, her work is marked by a mentality that seeks to break with social asymmetries. Boitempo has published “Women, race and class” (2016), “Women, culture and politics” (2017), “Freedom is a constant struggle” (2018) and “An autobiography” (2019). Issue #30 of Boitempo’s biannual magazine, “Margem Esquerda”, also features an article by Angela Davis about the legacies of Herbert Marcuse, her advisor.