African American Artists Paris trip

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Event description

The American domain organized a study trip for students interested in the history of African American writers, artists and musicians living and working in Paris in the 20th century. The main event of the trip was a guided tour by Julia Browne of "Walking the Spirit Tours" (you can check out the website), who showed us around the Paris of James Baldwin, Richard Wright and other notable African American writers and provided detailed accounts and anecdotes of their experiences there. From the First World War, when thousands of African American soldiers were first welcomed to France, black Americans have found a home and haven in Paris that nourished their talents and celebrated their work: Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Louis Armstrong, and many others. We explored the history and locales of this vibrant African-American Paris. In the nighttime, our local medievalist and jazz aficionado Marco Nievergelt took us on a tour of the musical hotspots.