(In practice, though, North African immigrants and their children do complain of discrimination, and riots broke out in immigrant areas in 2005.)Īmerican blacks in France, though, are a category unto themselves.

The state considers everyone simply French, in its bid to be officially colorblind and stem discrimination. The tour was especially eye-opening in France, where minorities from the substantial black and North African communities - often with origins in former French colonies - are not quantified in the census. Stevenson, an Oklahoma native and former TV journalist, has more than enough material to work with: Even after an information-packed tour lasting nine hours, I couldn't help thinking we had only scratched the surface. They chose the full-day option, $129 per person for a trek zigzagging through offbeat areas like the Parc Monceau, where poet Langston Hughes once lived in maid's chambers, or a bustling, working-class area that Stevenson dubs 'Little Africa.' dollar and a chilly and wet winter day as part of a birthday-celebration getaway. Tour guide Ricki Stevenson let me tag along as she escorted four black tourists from Texas, who braved the weak U.S.

Any American with even a slight familiarity with Paris knows about Josephine Baker, the black swivel-hipped cabaret entertainer who shunned racism in America, vaulted to stardom here in 1925, and stayed on to become one of France's most adored 20th century icons.īut what about William Wells Brown, the 19th-century former slave turned abolitionist who once expressed awe that he could pray next to whites at La Madeleine church, or that some tipped their hat to him on Paris streets?īoth historical figures feature high in Black Paris Tours, offering a glimpse of the mutual love affair between black Americans and the City of Light.

Paris Noir by Tyler Stovall