In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many African Americans artist and writers moved to Paris in order to work free from the judgement of race, which was oppressive the United States.

The left Bank of the Seine River, an neighborhood known as Montemartre, was the hub for artist and writers. They often gathered in cafes to discuss their work.

Montemartre

James Baldwin August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987

​James Baldwin writer, essayist and playwrite.

9 years in Paris 1948-1957 working among other artistic expatriates.

He wrote about being able to escape the prejeducices of the US in an essay entitled "Equal in Paris."

His best known works include Notes of a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961), and The Fire Next Time (1963)

​Q. What is an expatriate?

A. A person who lives outside of their native country

Josephine Baker June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975

​Josephine Baker

American-born French dancer, singer and actress

She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, A French silent film La Sirène des tropiques.

Refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States

Was inducted into the Panthéon in Paris, the first black woman to receive one of the highest honors in France.

Q. What is the Pantheon?
A. A non-religious mausoleum honoring French citizens.

​Richard Wright September 4, 1908 – November 28, 1960

​​Richard Wright

From Mississippi, but moved to Paris in 1946

Writer, essayest

He was burried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Loïs Mailou Jones (1905–1998)

Loïs Mailou Jones (1905–1998)

• was an artist and educator.

• In 1945, she received a BA in art education from Howard University, graduating with honors

• Traveled and painted throughout France and many Francophone countries throughout her life.

• Works are displayed in Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Art Museum among others

• Jones' painting Les Fétiches, now housed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, was instrumental in transitioning "Négritude" — a distinctly francophone artistic phenomenon — from the predominantly literary realm into the visual.

Q. What is négritude?

A. An anti-colonial cultural and political movement founded by a group of African and Caribbean intellictuals in Paris in the 1930s who sought to reclaim the value of blackness and African culture.