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The French Connection
In the 20th century, many public Black figures (James Baldwin, Josephine Baker) moved to France to escape rampant discrimination in America. Today, many conservatives support a color-blind ideology that has found its purest manifestation in France and French law. Recent scholarship has explored the difference between contemporary American racial policy, which has grudgingly tolerated race conscious remedies to racial discrimination, and the French system which has steadfastly rejected them. What does the French experience tells us about the efficacy of the color-blind ideology? Or, to put it another way, should we do as conservatives say and abandon the American system for the “French model” of race relations?
2 Responses to “The French Connection”
Yeah, but France has far more unemployed minorities than we do. What do you tink all these riots in France was about?
I don’t know what the long term solution is. Unfortunately, there will always be pushback if remedies are seen as favoratism. People always vote for their self-interest, not generosity of spirit.
I am pretty sure, though, that the black expatriates living in France overestimated their reception there. In some circles, blacks were probably accepted as just one of the gang. In many cases, though, there was a degree of tryophyism – it was considered chic to have a black at the table.
The French are quite ethnocentric, and to be truly equal you need French lineage. Otherwise, you are merely tolerated.
International fame, of course, counts for a lot. In the case of Baldwin or Baker, it was not just a black person but a famous person who was accepted. Also appreciated is artistic talent, even without fame. It would not be nearly as easy to enter French society for an unknown and not artistic person.