It would have been almost impossible for me to resist Brazil forever. Given my love for black people and fascination with our stories, Brazil’s paramount importance in the historical trans-Atlantic slave trade and its contemporary role as a cultural and economic leader on the world stage, it was inevitable that my travels would lead me there. Which is to say more plainly that one cannot be serious about interrogating blackness and knowing the African diaspora today and not revere Brazil as a touchstone in that inquiry.
At Words Without Borders, Naomi Jackson writes about feeling pulled toward Brazil and the personal and historical importance of exploring blackness globally.
