A ‘black Parisian’ march in remembrance of slavery: challenging the French collective imagination

Laplanche-Servigne, Soline

doi:10.1080/17528631.2015.1085664

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…Beyond reckoning with history, there is the question of repair, redress, and reparation, including calls for economic reparations and to decolonize Europe, its educational institutions and curricula (Bhambra et al ., 2018; Schütz, 2020). For example, anti‐racist activists in France have mobilized for commemoration and reparations for French colonial slavery for decades, including the 2001 Taubira law which acknowledged slavery as a crime against humanity (Fleming, 2017; Laplanche‐Servigne, 2017). More recently, the German government has acknowledged its colonial occupation and genocide of Herero and Nama populations in Namibia (BBC, 2021).…”

Section: Reckoning With Slavery and Colonialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a Reading of Black Lives Matter in Europe

Beaman

2021

J of Common Market Studies

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In June 2020, the Parliament of the European Union voted to proclaim 'Black Lives Matter', a statement that also included how it 'strongly condemns the appalling death of George Floyd'. 1 This was a few weeks after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer in Minneapolis, killed George Floyd, a 46 year-old Black American man, by putting his knee on the Floyd's neck until he was no longer breathing. Darnella Frazier, a 17 year-old Black American woman, captured the almost nine minute video of his killing, including Floyd's last words, 'I can't breathe', which has since been shared worldwide.In the immediate wake of Floyd's death, in the midst of a global pandemic which disproportionately affected Black individuals, 2 mass protests and demonstrations occurred proclaiming Black Lives Matter, not just in Minneapolis, but throughout the United States, as well as in much of Europe and the world, including in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium. One example is Assa Traoré, a French activist of Malian origin, who led a massive demonstration outside the High Court in Paris of more 20,000 protestors against police violence, including the death of her own brother, Adama Traoré, by the police four years prior in the banlieue of Beaumont-sur-Oise, for which she and her family have still not received justice (Collins, 2020). This demonstration also invoked Floyd's murder. Several protests signs invoked Black Lives Matter and 'I Can't Breathe', the last words of both Floyd and Adama Traoré. In a later interview with the French magazine, Antidote, Assa said, 'When George Floyd died, that's our brother. They [Floyd and Traoré] died the same way. I recognize myself in Black Lives Matter, we are all Black Lives Matter. Our common issue is racial discrimination. Here as over there, it is the Blacks, the non-whites, who are being killed' (Rhrissi, 2020).Later that same month, I served as panelist and moderator for a virtual panel discussion, 'Do Black Lives Matter in Europe?', for the Council for European Studies in conversation with political scientist Terri Givens and historian Kennetta Hammond Perry. 3 We had over 300 registrants for this webinar, indicating wide interest in this question. The question was not, 'should Black Lives Matter', but rather why and how Black Lives are not seen to matter, and historically seen not to have mattered, in Europe, despite the long and continued presence of Black individuals across the continent.The EU Parliament declaration, as well as protests such as this one in Paris, suggest the relevance and importance of Black Lives Matter in Europe. But what does such a declaration mean in the face of documented racism and discrimination against Black 1 https://www.dw.com/en/eu-declares-black-lives-matter-condemns-racism/a-53878516 2 In fact, Floyd's autopsy revealed that he was positive for COVID-19 (Neuman, 2020). 3 https://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/do-black-lives-matter-in-europe/

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Section: Reckoning With Slavery and Colonialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a Reading of Black Lives Matter in Europe

Beaman

2021

J of Common Market Studies

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Why French racial minorities do not mobilize more often. Disempowerment, tactical repertoires and soft repression of antiracist movements

Talpin

2022

Ethnic and Racial Studies

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This article demonstrates why collective action remains a rare phenomenon among French racial minorities. Three factorsat individual, organizational and institutional levelhave been identified. First, the investigation reveals that despite feelings of racial injustice and identification expressed more frequently than previous research had indicated, French minorities demonstrate a strong mistrust of politics and collective action, distracting them from civic engagement. Then, the study over several years of eleven antiracist collectives in six cities indicates that their dominant repertoire of action is out of tune with the targeted public, mostly working-class. Finally, antiracist NGOs are subject to misrecognition and channeling by institutions, which explains activists' tactical choices, but limits their mobilization potential. This article is based on a survey comprising 160 semidirective interviews with a diverse panel of French racial minorities and the ethnographic follow-up over several years of eleven antiracist collectives in six working-class towns in France.

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A ‘black Parisian’ march in remembrance of slavery: challenging the French collective imagination

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Towards a Reading of Black Lives Matter in Europe

Towards a Reading of Black Lives Matter in Europe

Why French racial minorities do not mobilize more often. Disempowerment, tactical repertoires and soft repression of antiracist movements

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