Innocence, Ignorance et Arrogance : Les Trois Grâces de l'Anti-Noirité en France. Issue 4 (8th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Niang, Mame-Fatou
• Is Part Of: Contemporary French and francophone studies. Volume 26:Issue 4/5(2022)
• Page Start: 361
• Page End: 374
• Publication Date: 2022-08-08
• Subjects: Frenchness -- myth -- national narrative -- universalism -- pseudo-universalism -- Republican values -- blackface -- race; French literature -- Periodicals; France -- Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Study and teaching -- France -- Periodicals; 306.094405
• DOI: 10.1080/17409292.2022.2107265
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1740-9292

Abstract

Abstract: In 2020, George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis triggered the biggest anti-racism movement in contemporary French history and laid bare the racial divides long hidden by discourse emphasizing France's republican values. Written against the backdrop of this unprecedented "racial spring, " this article analyzes three common stances towards anti-racism in the French context of memory and identity: innocence, ignorance and arrogance, and the ways in which these three postures are presently challenged by a generation of French who have long experienced erasure by the universalist myth . Their actions underline the need to examine the blind spots in French history and question the flaws in the republican ideal, and ultimately to build a shared, truly universalist narrative that reflects multiple perspectives. Far from disguising secessionist inclinations, the struggles of these emerging anti-racist movements reflect a real demand being made of the French Republic.