The Commemoration of Slavery in France and the Emergence of a Black Political Consciousness

Bibliographic Data

ID3970058
AuthorsJean-Yves Camus, Jean–Yves Camus (0000-0003-0449-6165, Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume11
Issue6
Pages647-655
Publication date2006-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe European Legacy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1084-8770 • E-ISSN: 1470-1316
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10848770600918281
OpenAlexW2091266783
LanguageEN
Citations received9

The abolition of slavery after the Revolution of 1789 has always been hailed by the French secular State as proof of the progressivist nature of the Republic. Nevertheless, there has never been any attempt to seriously confront the French involvement in the trade of slaves, which lasted for two centuries. France, a colonial power until the 1960s, which still retains several overseas possessions with an Afro-Caribbean population, has a large resident black population in the mainland which feels it has been deprived of its memory and history and seeks official recognition of the role of the State in the trade of slaves. This article tries to show how a black collective identity and consciousness emerged around the fight for the recognition of slavery as a crime against humanity and the claim for financial compensation. This black collective identity competes with the Jewish community, which was granted financial compensation for the Shoah and which successfully lobbied the State to recognize that it was partly responsible for the genocide in World War II. While some radical black activists seek an alliance with part of the Islamic movement, they are also competing over the recognition of their collective identity by the State with the growing Muslim community whose memory is that of colonization and second-class citizenship

Aesthetics · Art · Citizenship · Colonialism · Genocide · Identity (music · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · State (computer science · African history and culture studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Law · North African History and Literature

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