California Italian Studies

This essay examines how translation shapes Black Italian cultural politics, focusing on the circulation of Black feminist thought in translation as both linguistic transfer and political praxis. Central to the analysis is translator and activist Marie Moïse, whose translations and workshops foreground Black Italian voices and connect transnational Black feminist theory to local struggles. The essay also considers the “boomerang effect” of translation through Rahma Nur, whose recognition in Italy was mediated by the circulation of her work abroad. Drawing on Spivak, Venuti, and Edwards, it argues that translation is dialogic and recursive: it enables visibility, exposes structural inequalities, and opens space for Black Italian feminists to articulate positionality, critique erasure, and foster transnational solidarity.