Including its overseas territories, France has the largest Black community in Europe. Many Black residents live in Paris, the country’s capital. For centuries the city has been home to many well-known Black artists, activists and academics such as Joseph Bologne, who is also known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799), a champion fencer, virtuoso violinist, and conductor of the city’s symphony orchestra. Other prominent Parisian residents include Aime Cesaire, who together with Léopold Sédar Senghor and Léon Gontran Damas formed The Negritude Movement between the two world wars. In addition, famous Black Americans have long flocked to the city, including W. E. B. Du Bois, who convened a Pan-African Congress in the capital in 1919; entertainer Josephine Baker, who joined the Resistance in World War II and writer James Baldwin. The city’s most well known Black area is the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood, which includes Barbès, Château Rouge, and is the site of many African shops, markets and restaurants. Black French community stakeholders, organisations and individuals are invited to participate in a variety of ways, including in identifying and/or contributing audio-visual material. If you are interested in developing a project or delivering material, please contact us at: 12blackbeans@gmail.com
