There are two ways of being racist- first, you fix the Black ‘problem’ as an unachievable reality (whether that is based on biological, historical, cultural, or metaphysical principles), and second, you deny the existence of Black people, making the Black problem a negligible reality.

“Back in 1976, when I was two years old, my parents took me to a supermarket in Paris. I got lost and wound up at the customer service desk. The following announcement over the PA system was made. “A little boy has been found. He is around two years old and is … err … dark-haired. His parents have requested that he be picked up at the customer service desk.” When my parents went to the customer service desk, they were faced with a lady complaining that it had taken them a long time to come and find me. Had they not heard the announcement constantly repeated over the PA system? Stunned, my parents responded that they did not connect me with the announcement because it described a small “dark-haired” boy. Embarrassed, the lady then said: “Well, let’s say, in any case, he is … how can I put it? … He’s pretty dark-haired, no?” Dumbstruck, my parents countered: “Dark-haired, you should have said a little ‘black’ boy; then, we would have made the connection,” Louis-Georges Tin.

This quote shows the awkwardness that the word Black invokes and, even more so, the difficulty in defining who is Black in France. Is it the immigrants? Or even Sub-Saharan? But those from the Caribbean are neither. Is it Afro-Caribbean? But North Africans are not Afro-Caribbean. And why call them Black? It is an English word! Since we cannot define who is Black, we should not speak about them at all.

Black is defined in various ways: physical features (the biological concept of race) or the unique cultural similarities between people. Second, the everyday socio-economic and political oppressions in the form of discrimination that people face because of biases based on the color of their skin. Third, by living in societies where they don’t have a choice but to be perceived as Black by Whites. Fourth, in situations where Black people perceive themselves as Black.

The words Black and Negro have been used in French public discourse since the nineteenth century to refer to dark-skinned people, but it was not until the 1970s and onwards that the word Black became taboo. This was partly due to the opposition staged by former colonies, as there were neither Blacks nor Whites nor colonized colonizers. At the same time, the Black West Indians were embracing being Creole and multiculturalism. What is more, the Whites in France had abandoned the word Black because Black people are an inferior race; therefore, there was no need to speak about them. The White intellectuals did not believe in the existence of a race, which compounded their endeavors to deny the existence of Black people. This is similar to the conspiracy of silence that W.E.B Dubois refers to in his book, The Souls of Black Folk.

In 2004, an organization called Circle of Action for the Promotion of Diversity in France (CAPDIV) was set up, and in 2005, they launched the idea of a Federation of Black Associations. At the National Assembly on 26 November, the word Black, which had been repressed for over thirty years, was back. At the same time, the CRAN (Representatif des associations noires, or the Representative Council of Black Association) was born. Here, we see the people reclaiming the word Noir. Still, often, this was criticized for being an abuse of the French language or even a racist approach to reality (if there is no race, then color is not an issue. Therefore, we are all French- Liberte, Egalite, and Fraternite).

Some have suggested that the word Noir is racist as it directly refers to one’s skin and is linked to colonialism. However, others have suggested that those who use the term Black instead of Noir are uncomfortable with talking about issues of race. In France, there is an excellent sense of Blackness amongst those in the music industry, football, art, and cultural expressions. Black people report experiences of being second-class citizens, harassed by the police, and being under constant suspicion and surveillance.
The point is France has attempted to suppress the Black problem by pretending they do not exist. This is why the “lovely lady at the counter” carefully chooses her words and refers to the lost boy as dark, not Black or Noir. Also, the reference to dark signifying Black is consistent in Britain, as we saw in the last Blog and even this week, the claims raised by Meghan Markel regarding royal conversations about how dark baby Archie’s skin would be. It is clear that those who are characterized as Black in France would prefer to be identified as Noir; however, the consensus among Whites is that Blacks are not worthy of the French word, and despite the distaste, they would like to adopt the English word Black instead.

References

Du Bois, W. E. B. (1868) The Souls of Black Folk.

Tin, L. (2008). Who is Afraid of Blacks in France? The Black Question: The Name Taboo, the Number Taboo. French Politics, Culture & Society, 26(1), pp. 32-44.

Verge’s, F. (2010) ‘There Are No Blacks in France’: Fanonian Discourse, ‘the Dark Night of Slavery’ and the French Civilizing Mission Reconsidered. Theory, Culture & Society, 27(7-8), pp. 91-111.

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