Host A Screening of Paris Noir African Americans in Paris and Raise Money for your Organization

 

Host A Screening of African Americans in Paris

It's been 100 years since jazz burst onto the French cultural scene, marched in by the 369th Harlem

Infantry Regiment during World War I. Thus began the love affair between France and African American music, art, literature, and culture.   

Paris Noir -African Americans in the City of Light, a one-hour documentary by Blue Lion Films, tells that outstanding story of pioneering men and women who found liberté, egalité and fraternité (freedom, equality, and brotherhood) abroad, that they did not find at home in America.

 

Josephine Baker

Paris Noir has options for hosting, from educational viewing to screening as a fundraiser.

Choose a screening option that meets your needs:

High definition DVD to host and promote a single community film screening, INCLUDING Skype talk with one of the filmmakers, can introduce the film, the answer questions during a post-viewing Q&A. Includes 10 copies of the companion book African Americans in the City of Light for sale to your attendees.  $250.00.

High definition DVD to host and promote a single community film screening, PLUS one of the filmmakers attend your screening, introduce the film, then answer questions and facilitate a community building exercise after the film. $500.00- + Lodging

Option for multiple screenings is available.  Contact us for more information and pricing.  

Increase your fundraising potential!  Additional books available to sell at your event, or separately to raise funds for your organization. 

Books must be ordered by the organizer in advance. Shipping cost is additional.

The organizer keeps 100% of the revenue from the sale of books. Discounts apply as follows:

10 -19 books = 10% off

20 – 29 books = 20% off

30 or more items = 25% off

For more information or to schedule a screening Email: 

info@africanamericansinparis.com

A Haven from Hatred

During WWI African Americans and African Canadians wanted to serve their Countries but found racism a barrier to entry.  After fighting their way in, they fought valiantly on the battlefields of France. 

What they discovered during the war was tolerance and acceptance by the people of France.  They found gratitude from the people they helped to save from the Germans.  They found recognition with honor when they received the Croix de Guerre for their contribution.   They found a haven from the hatred they lived with daily at home.

When on leave and before withdrawal from France at the end of the war, these men were able to taste a sense of freedom, of equality they never found at home.  It surprised them when white American soldiers were berated and disciplined for aggressive acts against them by the French.  They enjoyed integration, mingling with the French in clubs and cafés.  They enjoyed the expressions of gratitude, not aggression they experienced at home.  

Some stayed.  Most returned home and died on the battlefields of a racist America that was neither grateful or proud.  They were angry that these men they considered too inferior to fight had come back as heroes.  They refused to recognize them as heroes, choosing instead to murder them and other innocent African Americans for having the temerity to believe they could be equals.

France, but most especially Paris, had taken them to the mountaintop.  They were able to see what equality could be like, what acceptance felt like, and reveled in the newfound freedom. 

What was France like for these heroes?  The African Americans introduced jazz to France, but France introduced them to equality. 

To get more of this slice of African American history watch the documentary Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light.  This one-hour documentary by Joanne Burke is the most comprehensive and compelling documentary existing on the remarkable migration of pioneering African Americans to France and the impact both cultures had on each other. Winner of the Henry Hampton Award for Film Excellence at the 2017 Roxbury International Film Festival.

Also available is a Museum-Quality 83-page Film Companion Book.  Enjoy it as a stand-alone resource or a comprehensive extension of the documentary; this invaluable book is filled with scores of high-quality photographs and engaging text.

African Canadians: The Forgotten Heroes of WWI

Members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion in 1917

Whenever I’m in Canada it’s not unusual to hear some from the States, say they are visiting from America.  Some Canadians are quick to remind us: “This is America.”  The United States and Canada share the North American continent, reminding us we are all Americans but not all from America.  The shared history of African Americans on both sides of the North American Border during World War One, however, is sadly, very similar. 

When World War I began African Canadians were eager to serve, but they faced the same prejudice as African Americans in the States.  Just as in America, they wanted to do their part.  They wanted to serve their country, but attitudes of people in charge of military enlistment for them to join.

On July 5, 1916, the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the first Black military unit in Canadian history, was formed. Reverend William White who place a key role in getting the unit formed and was made Honorary Capital, making him one of the first Black commissioned officers to serve the Canadian Army at the time. More than 600 men were eventually accepted, and the segregated battalion performed non-combat roles, much like the Black troops in the United States.  It seemed the same narrow-mindedness toward African Americans capacity to serve in battle existed in Canada as well.

The Battalion was sent to eastern France later in 1917 as part of the Canadian Forestry Corps. While the Construction Battalion, never saw battle and never carried weapons, eventually, some Black Canadians, were able to join regular combat units.  Many of them earned medals for bravery, like their brothers in the United States. 

When the War ended they returned home forgotten heroes. They were not hunted and lynched like their U.S. brethren, but their contributions were barely registered in the history books.  Their involvement seemed to be fading into oblivion until the late Senator Calvin Ruck made it his personal mission to document their contributions.  His book Canada's Black Battalion: No. 2 Construction, 1916-1920, is a history of the No. 2 Construction Battalion and the African Canadians who risked their lives and gave their lives in the name of King and Country. 

The No. 2 Construction Battalion, November 1916