Entertainment
Julia Browne Shares Her Love of France as a Guide to the History of Black Paris — Andscape
Black Americans in France is a series of reports specializing in African Americans living abroad during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Julia Browne has been guiding travellers through the history of Black Paris since 1994.
As the owner and founder Walking in the Spirit walking tours, Browne is an element of a vibrant enterprise that explores the deep, wealthy history of African Americans in Paris. For many black Americans, Paris represented liberation and an escape from the constant hum of racism.
For many reasons, this was not Browne’s reality.
“Honestly, it was somewhere else, and I liked being somewhere else,” Browne said during a recent interview from her home in Paris. “I liked being in a recent culture, and I liked looking around and never knowing what was occurring, and having the opportunity to discover what other people were doing. What life was all about.
“I wasn’t looking for freedom. It was a life that was more satisfying and closer to my personality.”
Browne’s journey has been as fascinating as the story her trips reveal. She became part of the black expat community in February 1990, when she left Canada and moved to a city that had resonated together with her since she was 10.
Browne was born in Yorkshire, England, after her parents emigrated from the island of St. Kitts in the Nineteen Fifties. They were part of the Windrush generation, made up of Commonwealth residents, particularly individuals and families from the Caribbean, who were invited to the UK to help rebuild Britain after World War II. When Browne was 8, the family moved to Ontario, Canada, in search of a more promising future. Her father left first, working in a logging camp. The rest of the family followed suit, settling in a small German village called Kitchener-Waterloo.
Browne said she was intrigued by France, the French and French culture in elementary school. She studied French and had a French pen pal in tenth grade. She’s undecided how or why her interests developed.
Her spirit was drawn to France normally and Paris specifically.
“There are certain ideas that come to you and you just go with them,” she said.
“The turning point came very gradually. It crept up on me. It’s not something I ever thought I’d be doing. If you had told me this was the job I’d be doing, I would have thought, ‘But it doesn’t even exist,’ because it didn’t.”
—Julia Browne
When Browne was 17, she discovered that her biological father, who was born in the Caribbean, was of French descent. She later discovered that her biological father had roots in Normandy.
Browne first went to Paris in the late Nineteen Seventies, when she was a flight attendant for Air Canada. Her introduction to France was unimpressive.
“I was disappointed because I didn’t like it, I didn’t like it at all,” she said. “I didn’t like the way people approached me, I just didn’t like it. That’s what happens when you don’t know what culture you’re entering and it’s so different from your own.”
When Air Canada laid off a whole lot of employees, Browne used her share-based advantages to enroll in a study abroad program at the University of Toronto. She settled in Aix-en-Provence, a city in southern France, north of Marseille.
It was there that Browne met the Frenchman who would turn into her husband. They returned to Montreal and married. After two years in Canada, Browne and her husband moved to Paris in 1990. They arrived on February 1, the birthday of poet and novelist Langston Hughes.
Browne didn’t have a grand plan. She definitely didn’t have plans to start a business based on exploring the wealthy history of African Americans in France.
This happened much later.
“The turning point came very gradually. It was coming to me,” she said. “It’s not something I ever thought I’d be doing. If you told me this was the job I’d be doing, I’d be like, ‘But it doesn’t even exist,’ because it didn’t.”
After a few years in Paris, Browne began hanging out with black expatriates. She met the author Davida Kilgore, who, like Browne, had studied at the Sorbonne. They became friends, and Kilgore introduced Browne to other black Americans.
“It took a conscious effort to get out and meet black Americans,” she said. “I was the odd one out because I was Canadian. My experience was different than Americans.”
Browne, on the other hand, was aware of black American culture, largely through television.
“We knew what African-American life was like. We knew some of the trials and tribulations. We could name all the big cities, we watched all the same TV shows,” she said. “I felt like I knew what it was like to be African-American, but I still had a distance from it because I hadn’t lived that way, so it was two different cultures.”
She knew enough about the history of black Americans to realize that the differences between them were significant.
“We felt safer in Canada,” she said. “We didn’t feel like there was as much prejudice and discrimination, but deep down we knew it was there. It wasn’t on the same level, it wasn’t as intrusive. It didn’t seem as obvious.”
For Browne, the opportunity to meet and talk with black Americans in Paris allowed her to see herself in a broader context: she was Canadian, born in the UK, but still black. Their stories were part of hers.
“It was a chance for me to hear what it was really like, beyond what you saw in the media. I wanted to know what it was like to be a black American as opposed to a Canadian. That’s still ongoing,” she said.
Today, he believes that the common thread between black Canadians and black Americans is that they’re all North Americans.
“But at that time I felt there was a boundary between us,” she said.
The seeds of Browne’s Black Americans in Paris travel business were planted while she was taking classes at the Sorbonne. One of her professors, Michel Fabre, who co-founded the Center for Afro-American Studies, wrote a book titled .
Browne took the book and walked the streets of Paris with it. She discovered, for instance, that Hughes lived near her apartment in the seventeenth arrondissement.
There were so many other gems she never knew about. “I love research, I love documentaries, I love learning,” Browne said. “I took the book and commenced walking around with it.
“It was so amazing to me that I kept doing it, walking around different places.”
During this time, Browne joined a group of black American women called the Sisters. During the group’s monthly meetings, Browne began to discuss her journeys and the history she was exploring.
“I was telling my sisters what I had discovered, and someone asked, ‘Can you show us some of these things?’ So I wrote some things down on cards and took some of my friends with me.”
Word of her informal tours spread, and when friends and relatives visited, they asked Browne to be their guide. “That’s literally how it started, I just started showing people around because someone had heard and someone had told someone else.”
In 1994, a magazine editor visited Paris. Browne took her on a tour, and she or he wrote a story about the tour. A reporter from the magazine later wrote about Browne’s Black Paris tour. “It just took off. It surprised me, but it was so much fun,” she said. “You feel the need and you just go for it.”
Browne recalls that regardless that the business became popular, at first the travel agencies she contacted didn’t consider their clients would want to take a Black Paris tour.
“I contacted travel agents in the States and asked them, ‘Do you think your clients would be interested in this?’ And they said, ‘No, I don’t think so. I don’t see why,’” Browne said.
“It was travelers going back to their travel agents and saying, ‘We want to do this,’” Browne said. “People generally felt a need and wanted someone to do it for them. And then the travel industry — well, some agencies, anyway — saw that there was a need for it. And that’s when it really took off.”
Unlike some expats who live in Paris year-round, Browne still travels between Paris and Canada. She has trained staff to run tours while she is out of the country.
“I was doing the administration and all that, and the guides were my guides. And that was interesting because I was able to pass on that training and knowledge to other people I knew among black Americans,” Browne said. “It wasn’t just me anymore, it was other people kind of putting it off. That was good, too. In that sense, it wasn’t bad.”
When Browne moved to Paris, she absorbed the culture and loved it.
“In those first years, and since I used to be here full time — raising kids, living the life of a wife, being part of a French family, having friends, teaching, working — I felt increasingly connected to the place I used to be living. I felt good about being part of this society. I liked being French. That was what I identified with greater than being Canadian.
“I feel like I’m more myself here. I feel like I’ve definitely found my mission and my reason for being here in a way that I don’t feel when I’m back in North America.”
On the other hand, Browne said she also cherishes her Canadian roots and, greater than anything, enjoys having the ability to come back and are available back. “It allows me to relax into one. And then when I get bored of that, I can relax into the other,” Browne said. “I just can’t imagine being just one.”
While Paris has been a place of comfort for generations, Browne, like others, is at pains to emphasize that Paris will not be a paradise for black Americans.
“I don’t think it’s a panacea. Nothing is a panacea. But there are times when you need a break and there are places where you can take a break, where you don’t have to think, where you don’t have to feel oppressed, where you can hide,” she said.
“You start to calm down, you start to relax. And then you find other parts of yourself that you can bring out, like the writers did. They found a certain space where they could create. And then you take a breath, and then you throw yourself back into the fight if you need to, or you find a place to fight, or something to fight for. You choose that, but at least you get a chance to sit out a few rounds, right?”
Until now, the cultural trace of the story of Mara Brock Akil is undeniable. Her latest series, “Forever”, had all of us in our feelings last weekend (including this creator). But for fans of her earlier work “Girlfriends”, “Love Is” and “The Game” there’s also also also one query that never disappears: Will we ever receive the precise sending for ladies “girls”?
Apparently Akil wants it as much as we do.
In a recent seat in “Sherri” Akil said she was trying to revive the movie “Girls”
“I want to tell this story … I want to write an epic film (” Girls “); I tried to tell this story, “Akil admitted before I revealed that its biggest road blockade on this project was financing.
“So I have a good idea for us now,” she added. “Where is your phone? Do you know someone who has $ 50 million on your phone? Do we have five people who have $ 10 million? Do we have 10 million (people) who have five?”
Considering what variety of viewers Akil loves the work, social media users were shocked, hearing that the creator of “girls” is trying to get financing their projects.
“From the CV Mara Brock Akil should not be begging you to invest in her stories. This is crazy,” commented one user About the actual fact.
“If sex and city got two spinoff films, we can finish girls, someone will open their wallet” Another user wrote on Twitter.
While Shepherd was joking about “handing over the album” to finance the film, she also emphasized how difficult it’s to get projects in Hollywood, even throughout the case of essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably essentially probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably the most respected names in the game. The premiere of “Girlfriends” in 2000 and ran for eight seasons, giving us 172 episodes with the participation of Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden Brooks, Jill Marie Jones, Persia White and Reggie Hayes. The program suddenly stopped in 2008 through the writers’ strike, leaving too many unanswered fans about Joan, Toni, Maya, Lynn and William.
Still, Akil didn’t lose hope. And she didn’t lose gratitude for the fans base, which stays to be going to history.
“I really want to thank the audience because you didn’t let go and (I),” Akil added.
To
Entertainment
Janelle Monáe, Fast Cars & Future Worlds: Cadillac’s F1 Launch means a new era of American innovation – Essence
Courtesy
Under the shining lights contained contained contained contained throughout the style of Art Deco South Beach, the new era of American perfection roared to life. Cadillac, a luxurious automotive brand, has long been related to innovation and cultural prestige, presented its official team Formula 1-TWG Motorsports X Cadillac F1-on one night the celebration, which gathered fashionable, future design and non-systemic expression. In the middle of all this, standing like lightning between heritage and future energy, he was an artist and 10-fold grammy nominatedJanelle Monáe.
In the re-image to the Queen Theater contained contained contained contained throughout the style of the Nineteen Forties-the night-transformed Cadillac-Monáe club delivered performances for a crowd as electric for the rationale that vision of the brand. It was a deliberate collision of speed, style and telling stories. Guests very very like Victoria Monét, Micalene Thomas and Jurnee Smollett were present.
“The brand had just had a place in my heart,” Monáe said, asked why she said “yes” to the performance. “Cadillac was part of my life since I was once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once small. My dad had two sedans and the wood of the fleet. I just remember how he was with him contained contained contained contained throughout the automotive, and he was collecting me from school in Cadillac. This is more more more vulnerable to be the one American company that represents the innovation, because they could thoroughly be contained contained contained contained throughout the automotive.
This kind of full moment every time you realize what this premiere really represents. Cadillac is currently the one American luxurious brand entering the exclusive, dominated by the euro world of the Formula 1-SPORTH racing, which, which, Historically, he didn’t sculpt his place for a black presence. Until now.
And then he’s monáe-defective, futuristic, deeply rooted. An ideal character to anchor the evening.
There is a reason why Monáe moves so freely contained contained contained contained throughout the media – Music, Film, Literature, Fashion – but he throughout the least times feels as whether it’s just starting. He sees no boundaries. He doesn’t consider staying in a single lane.
“I always discover new things about my art and who I am, allowing myself to redefine how I look at life, music and creativity. I am constantly building global building,” says the singer “Electric Lady”. “I’m in the middle of the world now – I am building more music, more visualizations, more communities, more great ideas that, hopefully, will open the future for more artists and will be as innovative as they want.”
And you greater than likely can feel that when approaching cooperation. For her it’s about energy. It’s about resonance. It’s about constructing something that did not exist before.
“I am very non-binary in the way I think about where I can go, who I can be and who I can work. She is always sexy for me, when I can cooperate with an artist or a company or with another community in which I can not necessarily be every day, and we create something that is one of a kind,” he says.
This spirit was dense in peace. A mix of creation – musicians, technological entrepreneurs, designers, athletes and influential – like all of the tissue of real -time culture.
It’s easy to wander away in Formula 1 gloss and chic silhouettes. But Monáe doesn’t move through the world, making wealth. When the subject of luxury appeared, it was measured. Intended. Even a bit delicate.
“I grew up with my parents’ parents. My mother was a janitor, my father was a trash, my grandmother served food for 25 years. I watched the uniforms and live payments. My dad bought a used Cadillac at auction.”
For her, luxury was not about labels – it was about safety. It was Sundays contained contained contained contained throughout the kitchen. It was a bill that did not hang over your head. It was safety, not throwing away.
“I try to use all my possibilities to take my family and let them experience what I experience. I hope that one day we will simply be able to remove this division [the idea that] Luxury is only for a higher level or people who earn a certain amount of money, “it stopped briefly.” I want people like my parents work for the community, have more access to things that have one percent. “
There is throughout the least times something quiet radical in watching a black woman occupying a place in high-power rooms-he does it without compromise. This made the presence of Monáe in Miami so significant. Not only did she appear. Changed the atmosphere. Its performance was electric.
It was a kind of performance that not only entertained, but completely calibrated the room again. This moment, tonight – was about honoring the roots throughout the dream of ahead. It was about taking space that weren’t originally built for us and remodeling them into our image.
It was a real present evening. Reminder that black creativity, black perfection and black luxury are fundamental.
When Cadillac is preparing to take his place on the F1 net, the meaning of voices very very like Monáe cannot be overestimated. Her presence and vision are rooted in capital, expression and expansion, and if the long term of Cadillac resembles the world he builds, it’s a step forward.
Tyler Perry Studios is preparing for the next release of the film – and that is one other thriller. This summer, Taraji P. Henson, Teyana Taylor, Sherri Shepherd and others are to look in the upcoming thriller of Perry “Straw”.
According to Netflix“Słomiana” concerns the “Lonely Mother, whose world spreads in chaos, when her day goes from evil to worse to catastrophic, when she tries to take care of her sick daughter. Pushed to the edge through the world, which seems indifferent to her existence, is forced to face impossible elections in a society that does not offer her safety net.” Taping her character Janyah as a single mother was something she could confer with from experience.
“Janiyah is a woman who doesn’t have much in life, but she has a lot of love for her child,” said Henson Entertainment every week. “I’m a lonely mother, so I understood her journey and her struggles. She is a lonely mother who tries to utilize the cards which have been given in her life best.
Noticing how the film “shows how easy it is that people in a difficult situation can be disregarded or deprived of civil rights by a system that is to protect them,” added Henson:
“If likelihood is high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high it’s possible it’s possible likelihood is high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high high you almost actually can possibly possibly possibly be a fighting single mother, you likely can in no way times pay for this extraordinary lunch, and kids who cannot afford this extraordinary lunch, get a separate lunch. And you already know what is happening then? Children begin to hassle your child. As parents, they feel the pain of our youngsters deeper than them, so it meant for her.
The film, which based on Henson is crammed with “crazy twists”, which could surprise the viewers, was reportedly shot inside 4 days, while the actress worked on one other project.
“Thinking that we shot in four days when I was still working on” Night Fight Night “,” Henson explained. “But that is what I like in Słrier Perry; he’s fast, and I’ll even be fast. He knew he had a limited time with me. He used it accurately … The topic is a bit dark, so I used to be once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once glad that I used to be once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once living only in the world of this character for 4 days, because this energy is transferred, and just somewhat little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little bit of a follow you. I used to be once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once once glad when it happens, and I’m very different from one other character.
“Straw” takes place at Netflix on June 6.
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