African Americans in France
Encyclopedia
African Americans in France
are a subgroup of the larger American population in France, it may include people of African American
heritage or black people from the United States
who are or have become residents or citizens of France as well as students and temporary workers. Tyler Stovall, a history professor at the University of California
, is quoted as saying,
when about 200,000 were brought over to fight. Ninety per cent of these soldiers were from the American South.. Many black GIs decided to stay in France after having been well received by the French, and others followed them. France was viewed by many African Americans as a welcome change after incidents of racism in the United States
. It was during this time that jazz
was introduced to the French and black culture was born in Paris. African American musicians, artists, and Harlem Renaissance
writers found 1920s Paris ready to embrace them with open arms. Montmartre became the center of the small community, with jazz clubs such as Le Grand Duc, Chez Florence and Bricktop's thriving in Paris. World War II brought all the fanfare to an abrupt halt. The Nazi invasion of Paris in June 1940 meant suppression of the "corrupt" influence of jazz in the French capital and danger of imprisonment for African Americans choosing to remain in the city. Most Americans, black as well as white, left Paris at this time.
The political upheavals surrounding the African-American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War
protests in the United States were mirrored by civil unrest in France. African-American journalist William Gardner Smith
who was also a novelist (ie., Last of the Conquerors
), who worked for the French news service Agence France-Presse, reported the events of the student uprising in May 1968. Many blacks supported this movement, which escalated into a virtual shutdown of the entire country of France. Once order was restored however, a notable increase in repressive tendencies was observed in the French police and immigration authorities. In addition, the presence of newly arrived enclaves of blacks from many African and Caribbean
nations offer African Americans the chance to experience new forms of black culture .
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
are a subgroup of the larger American population in France, it may include people of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
heritage or black people from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who are or have become residents or citizens of France as well as students and temporary workers. Tyler Stovall, a history professor at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, is quoted as saying,
"In many ways, African Americans came to France as a sort of privileged minority, a kind of model minority, if you will - a group that benefited not only from French fascination with blackness, but a French fascination about Americanness,"
African American migration to France
African Americans, who are largely descended from Africans of the American colonial era, have lived and worked in France since the 1800s. Unofficial figures indicate that up to 50,000 free blacks emigrated to Paris from Louisiana in the decades after Napoleon sold the territory to the United States in 1803. Paris saw the beginnings of an African-American community in the aftermath of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when about 200,000 were brought over to fight. Ninety per cent of these soldiers were from the American South.. Many black GIs decided to stay in France after having been well received by the French, and others followed them. France was viewed by many African Americans as a welcome change after incidents of racism in the United States
Racism in the United States
Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans...
. It was during this time that jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
was introduced to the French and black culture was born in Paris. African American musicians, artists, and Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
writers found 1920s Paris ready to embrace them with open arms. Montmartre became the center of the small community, with jazz clubs such as Le Grand Duc, Chez Florence and Bricktop's thriving in Paris. World War II brought all the fanfare to an abrupt halt. The Nazi invasion of Paris in June 1940 meant suppression of the "corrupt" influence of jazz in the French capital and danger of imprisonment for African Americans choosing to remain in the city. Most Americans, black as well as white, left Paris at this time.
The political upheavals surrounding the African-American Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
protests in the United States were mirrored by civil unrest in France. African-American journalist William Gardner Smith
William Gardner Smith
William Gardner Smith was an American journalist, novelist, and editor. Smith is linked to the black social protest novel tradition of the 1940s and the 1950s, a movement that became synonymous with writers such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Willard Motley, and Ann Petry...
who was also a novelist (ie., Last of the Conquerors
Last of the Conquerors
Last of the Conquerors is the debut novel by African-American journalist and editor William Gardner Smith. It was first published in 1948....
), who worked for the French news service Agence France-Presse, reported the events of the student uprising in May 1968. Many blacks supported this movement, which escalated into a virtual shutdown of the entire country of France. Once order was restored however, a notable increase in repressive tendencies was observed in the French police and immigration authorities. In addition, the presence of newly arrived enclaves of blacks from many African and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
nations offer African Americans the chance to experience new forms of black culture .
Notable people in France of African American ancestry
- J. Alexander, model
- Josephine BakerJosephine BakerJosephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
, entertainer and actress - Mickey BakerMickey BakerMickey Baker, also known as Mickey "Guitar" Baker is an American guitarist...
, one of the top guitarists of all time, and one of the most influential musicians in rock and roll - Nicolas BatumNicolas BatumNicolas Batum is a French basketball player with SLUC Nancy of the Ligue Nationale de Basketball. He is also under contract with the Portland Trail Blazers, and is expected to return to that team once the 2011 NBA lockout ends. The Blazers acquired his rights during the 2008 NBA Draft for the...
, professional basketball player for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers - Sidney BechetSidney BechetSidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
, jazzman - Arthur BriggsArthur BriggsArthur Briggs was an African American Jazz trumpeter and orchestra leader who performed in Europe....
, jazz musician - Marcus BrownMarcus BrownMarcus James Brown is a retired American professional basketball player. At 6'4" , he played as a shooting guard. Brown has been mentioned as being one of the top U.S. athletes to ever play abroad...
, basketball player and Euroleague's all-time leading scorer - Eugene BullardEugene BullardEugene Jacques Bullard was the first black military pilot and the only black pilot in World War I along with Ahmet Ali .-Early life:...
, world's first Black military pilot - Barbara Chase-RiboudBarbara Chase-RiboudBarbara Chase-Riboud is an American novelist, poet, sculptor and visual artist, perhaps best known for her historical fiction. Much of her work has explored themes related to slavery and exploitation of women....
, novelist, poet, sculptor and visual artist - Carole FredericksCarole FredericksCarole Denise Fredericks was an American singer most famous for her recordings in France. Carole emerged from the shadow of her brother, the legendary blues musicologist Taj Mahal, to achieve fame and popularity in Europe and the French-speaking world...
, singer - Johnny GriffinJohnny GriffinJohn Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
, American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist - André Action Diakité JacksonAndré A. JacksonAndré Action Diakité Jackson , , more commonly known by his African clan name "M’Zée Fula-Ngenge" , is a diamond industrialist and head of JFPI Corporation, Africa's largest holding company....
, first diamond industry administrator and global Diamantaire of African descent - Chloe MortaudChloé MortaudChloé Mortaud is a French beauty pageant contestant who won Miss France 2009. She represented the Albigeois-Midi-Pyrénées, a southwest region of France, and became the first winner of the Miss France beauty pageant to have dual citizenship, French and American...
, Miss France, 2009 - Tony ParkerTony ParkerWilliam Anthony "Tony" Parker is a French professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA....
, professional basketball player for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs - Melvin SandersMelvin SandersMelvin Sanders is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Menorca Bàsquet. He previously played for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.-Pro career:...
, professional basketball player - Victor SéjourVictor SéjourJuan Victor Séjour Marcou et Ferrand was an American expatriate writer who worked in France. Though mostly unknown to later African American authors, his short story "Le Mulâtre" is the earliest known work of fiction by an African American author.Séjour was born in New Orleans to a free mulatto...
, playwright - Ada "Bricktop" Smith, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and self-described saloon-keeper
- Henry Ossawa TannerHenry Ossawa TannerHenry Ossawa Tanner was an African American artist best known for his style of painting. He was the first African American painter to gain international acclaim.-Education:...
, painter - Dominique WilkinsDominique WilkinsJacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA...
, NBA Hall of Famer - Richard WrightRichard Wright (author)Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
, author of novels, short stories, and non-fiction