In the nation that declared ‘Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights’ during the French Revolution in 1789, France has shown grievous disdain for the rights of the peoples it enslaved and colonized. At the same time, it has provided a space where the former colonized and African-American expatriates would strive to determine and demand their own worth through education, arts and culture, political activism.

This presentation examines historical resistance of enslaved from the French Caribbean, Harlem Renaissance meets the Negritude Movement, Josephine Baker and her role in the French Resistance but also creating a life that continually defied stereotypes, the preserving and sharing of Memory in Bordeaux region, jazz as a tool of resistance for African-Americans and the French.

Hosting the program is Julia Browne, public historian and pioneer of Black heritage tourism in France since 1994.

This program is part of ASALH International Program.