Blacks in Paris: African American Culture in Europe
CHAPTER ONE
WELCOME TO PARIS Langston Hughes first saw Paris France Hughes had just left his job aboard a early one summer morning in 1924 freighter ship after hearing stories about Paris from a native Frenchman Hughes decided to visit the famous City of Lights for a few months Even though he only had seven dollars in his pocket Hughes set out to see the sights One day he visited the Louvre The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum Inside Hughes saw statues from ancient Greece In his autobiography Hughes said that he talked to one statue He told it If you can stay in Paris as long as you’ve been here and look OK Writer Langston Hughes lived in New York City before he left to travel abroad in 1923
I guess I can stay a while with seven dollars and make a go of it A LONG HISTORY African Americans had visited France long before Hughes made his trip In the 1800s a community of free and wealthy Creoles lived in Louisiana Louisiana Creoles were the descendants of French or Spanish nobles and black or Native American women Most US schools wouldn’t accept Creoles because of the color of their skin Creoles had to find other options for schooling Many Creoles sent their children to France for their educations They were accepted into French society Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s important members of the African American community also went to France African American leaders Frederick Douglass Booker T Washington and W E B Du Bois all visited the country When they came home they told everyone about how well they were treated
Activist Frederick Douglass traveled to France to give speeches in the late 1800s Their experiences inspired other African Americans to visit France WHY FRANCE The saying There are no slaves in France has been popular in the country since the 1500s This saying is not completely true African people were enslaved in French colonies until the mid-1800s But this saying shows
