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Thursday, September 14th, 2017

Elliott Barnes at AD Intérieurs 2017

Elliott Barnes returns to AD Intérieurs this year with an ambitious installation that marries 17th-century artistry with 21st-century savoir faire. Called "Le Salon d'un Collectionneur de Monnaie" in honor of the famous French sculptor and...

Thursday, August 24th, 2017

Black Women in French Rugby

By Tatiana Balabanis Rugby dates to the 19th century and though this sport is unconventional in its literal “backwards” nature, for centuries it has brought people together from different backgrounds. As a European alternative to the...

Thursday, August 17th, 2017

Haïti at Home: La Cuisine Créole - Part 2

No Haitian meal is complete without a little something sweet to finish it off. One of my favorite desserts is blancmangé. This coconut-based gelatin dessert perfectly highlights the sweet island flavor of coconut in an unconventional texture...

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017

Josephine Baker’s Heyday: The 1930s

Josephine Baker reached the height of her career a mere five years after being catapulted to stardom on October 2, 1925, the day that La Revue Nègre opened at the Théatre des Champs Elysées in Paris. Between 1925 and 1930, her...

Thursday, July 27th, 2017

Alexandre Dumas in and around Paris

Alexandre Dumas père (1802-1870)1 January 1855 - Nadar France has produced a considerable number of talented and timeless artists, including one Alexandre Dumas. Dumas was a French-born writer of Haitian descent who did great service to the...

Thursday, July 20th, 2017

Haïti at Home: La Cuisine Créole - Part 1

By Tatiana Balabanis Food has the incredible ability to transport you to any location at anytime. Whether it’s the smell of freshly baked baguettes that reminds you of your favorite boulangerie in Paris or the preparation of your favorite meal...

Thursday, July 13th, 2017

Taste of Haiti: A Glimpse into the Haitian Community in Paris

By Tatiana Balabanis Paris is home to a large variety of distinct cultures and a plethora of people who nurture those cultures so that they may continue to thrive in the diverse City of Lights. One of the cultures that has found its place in...

Thursday, June 15th, 2017

Cool Links for Black Culture in Paris

I'm traveling for the next two weeks and am not able to do any in-depth reporting on events, etc. in Paris during that time. To keep the blog active during the first week of my absence, I've put together a short list of Web sites that I think you'll...

Thursday, June 8th, 2017

Latin America and Caribbean Week in France

On February 11, 2011, the French Senate voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to celebrate the cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean on May 31 of each year. The festivities, which were meant to strengthen France's ties with this region of...

Thursday, June 1st, 2017

Dapper Museum to Close Definitively

I couldn't believe it when one of the persons on my most recent Black Paris after WWII tour told me that the Musée Dapper is closing definitively - next month! Musée Dapper façade © Entrée to Black Paris As soon as I...

Thursday, May 25th, 2017

Homage to Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)

Henry Ossawa Tanner is considered to be the quintessential African-American artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A large part of his legacy stems from his life and work in France. In homage to him, I am sharing a few lesser known facts...

Thursday, May 18th, 2017

I Am Not Your Negro Takes Paris by Storm

Raoul Peck's 94-minute documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, debuted in Paris last week and is taking the city by storm. It is receiving extensive media coverage and has already been shown on Arté, the French-German cultural television station,...

Thursday, April 13th, 2017

Name Change for an Historic Afro-Caribbean Night Spot

In September 2016, I wrote about the impending relaunch of the Bal Colonial, which was commonly known as le Bal Nègre. The club was scheduled to reopen on March 21, 2017 with the name "Le Bal Nègre." But protests caused the owner to...

Thursday, April 6th, 2017

Atelier Lea Lund and Erik K - Open for Business!

I first met Lea Lund and Erik K. at the African Stories exhibition at the Mu Gallery in January 2017.The dynamic couple informed me that they'd soon be opening an atelier in the 11th arrondissement and promised to keep me informed. They were true to...

Thursday, March 30th, 2017

Anna Julia Cooper - First African American to Earn a Ph. D. at the Sorbonne

As the end of Women's History Month rapidly approaches, I thought it would be fitting to write an article about a phenomenal woman who is a major figure in the history of African Americans in Paris. Her name is Anna Julia Cooper. Anna Julia Cooper...

Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

Dr. Lee Ransaw's French-inspired Art

As a professor of art at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Lee A. Ransaw developed an honors course called "The Arts of the Harlem Renaissance." Students had to have an accumulative “B” average to enroll. They were required to...

Thursday, March 16th, 2017

BAO - A New Afro-Créole Supermarket

The sister-brother team of Sona, Kossi, and Lemba Muluala recently opened what many people in Ile de France likely consider a godsend - a modern, full-service Afro-Créole supermarket. BAO storefront Screenshot from BAO video BAO, which is...

Thursday, March 9th, 2017

Hidden Figures Released in France

On March 8, the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures was released in Paris. Hidden Figures ad in metro © Entrée to Black Paris On March 2, Tom and I had the opportunity to see a preview of the film at a private screening at the U.S....

Thursday, March 2nd, 2017

Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole Hosts First Event for U.S. Travelers

On February 23, 2017, the Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole hosted its first event for a group of U.S. travelers to Paris! As the Académie's Ambassador to the U.S., I was pleased to propose a culinary workshop to...

Thursday, February 2nd, 2017

Celebrating 10 years of existence - La Tuile à Loup

I first wrote about Eric Goujou and La Tuile à Loup in December 2015. When Goujou contacted me recently regarding the newsletter he publishes about the boutique, he sent me the issue that describes his celebration of his tenth anniversary in...

Thursday, January 19th, 2017

The 369th Experience

Last Tuesday, Tom and I gave a presentation called "African-American Presence in the City of Light" at Adrian Leeds' well-known monthly Parler Paris event. Slide from presentation © Adrian Leeds Tom spoke about the Entrée to Black...

Thursday, January 12th, 2017

Soul Food in Paris

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when the mention of soul food in Paris conjured up images of Leroy Haynes in the kitchen at his restaurant on rue Clauzel or of happy diners crowded around tables at Bojangles (Sharon Leslie Morgan - owner)...

Thursday, January 5th, 2017

Kehinde Wiley at the Petit Palais

When I wrote about the black images in European art at the Petit Palais in late 2015, I never dreamed that I'd be able to write an article about an exhibition of works by a person of African descent being shown at the same institution. So I am...