Away from Africa

  Paris Noir showcases many of the Black artists who came to live in Paris, study in Paris, work in Paris, from all over the world. Paris was especially a refuge for Black American artists who in the 1950s fled Jim Crow and the lack of freedom in the United States to live a free(-er) life in France. The show includes visual art: paintings, collages, and sculptures, as well as film clips, and texts describing the various periods in time, between the 1950s and 2000. As per the Centre Pompidou website : From the creation of the  Présence Africaine  review to that of  Revue noire , “Black Paris” retraces the presence and influence of Black artists in France from the 1950s to 2000. The exhibition celebrates 150 artists coming from Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, whose works have often never been displayed in France before. Gerard Sekoto, South Africa: Self-Portrait, 1947 Artists shown hail from Martinique, Guadeloupe, the former French African colonies: Senegal, C...

Examples of Duala and Bamileke Matriarchal Authority... and a note from Zimbabwe Nowadays, seen from afar, African women appear to be living in very patriarchal societies for the most part. That impression would often not be incorrect, sadly. An exception could be made for the powerful “Mami Benz,” the traders of West Africa. On the other hand, who knows how the men in their family might be behaving with them, no matter their wealth and power! African women had a recognized authority in the socio-political and economic spaces established by traditional cultures. Cameroon has examples of traditional roles played by women. Some of these roles are still relevant today.   Amongst the Duala, the eldest daughter in a family was known as the Mangon, literally “Mother woman.” Even when she marries into another village community, she continues to play a vital role in the important stages of family life, such as births, marriages, and widowhood. She is the last resort in family disputes...