Blacks in Paris: African American Culture in Europe
FREEDOM’S PROMISE BLACKS IN PARIS AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE IN EUROPE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE IN EUROPE BY DUCHESS HARRIS JD PHD WITH ANITRA BUDD Cover image Josephine Baker performs at the Olympia theater in Paris France in 1959 An Imprint of Abdo Publishing abdobooks com Core Library
A LETTER FROM DUCHESS I asked my college students to name a city where many southern African Americans moved after World War I 1914 1918 Their responses included New York City Chicago Illinois and Detroit Michigan These answers are correct But one city that they did not mention was Paris France After World War I broke out more than 200,000 black soldiers came to France to fight for freedom and democracy When they were in Paris they were treated as human beings Back in the United States there were Ku Klux Klan members who might lynch them if they had on a uniform Because of this many African Americans stayed in Paris African American culture took off in France between World War I and World War II 1939 1945 The French discovered African-American music Club owners fought to get black bands during the Jazz Age Please join me on a journey to learn about blacks in Paris This is a story about the promise of freedom in the City of Lights
Louis Armstrong and many other jazz musicians performed in Paris during their careers
