A tour in the footsteps of famous African-Americans in Paris

PARIS » The great African-American writers James Baldwin and Richard Wright began their feud over Wright’s novel “Native Son,” at Cafe Les Deux Magots. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis held hands with his white girlfriend, French actress Juliette Greco, while strolling along the Seine after hanging out with Picasso. Entertainer Josephine Baker became a megastar at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.

Some travelers to Paris seek selfies with the Eiffel Tower, go to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre or stroll to the Arc de Triomphe. But you can create a different type of itinerary exploring African-American connections to the City of Light. Some of the United States’ greatest black intellectuals and performers sought an escape here from the racism of 20th century America, and with a little homework, you can retrace their footsteps.

“Paris . ... There you can be whatever you want to be. Totally yourself,” poet Langston Hughes wrote, according to Paule Marshall’s memoir “Triangular Road.”

“I’ve never felt a moment of sorrow,” Wright said about leaving the U.S. for France.

How and why these black expats felt more at home in Paris than in their own country is the theme of Black Paris Tours , founded and led by Ricki Stevenson.

In the U.S., African-Americans contended with segregation, racial terror and little support for their art. But in Paris, they drank wine with surrealists, frequented bars that aided the French Resistance during World War II, and enjoyed accolades for their work, Stevenson said. The French showered them with admiration and opportunity — ironic given France’s treatment of its African colonies. And while Paris today is a multiethnic city, immigrants from its former colonies, especially North Africans, often face racism and discrimination.

Yet decades ago, African-Americans felt welcomed here. St. Louisborn Freda Josephine McDonald, for example, came to Paris as a dancer after a life of cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families. In the U.S., she was criticized for being “too dark.” The New York Times once called her a “Negro wench.” But in Paris, she drew immediate fame for her 1925 performance in La Revue Negre at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. As Josephine Baker, she became one of the era’s most popular performers.

“The opportunity to live a rich, full life is something that she could have in Paris,” Stevenson said. “She could not have this in the United States.”

When Baker died in 1975, she was buried in a French military uniform with her medals for her role in the French Resistance during World War II.

Today, you can catch a show at the Art Deco-style Theatre des ChampsElysees, visit Baker’s favorite restaurant La Coupole and take photos at Place Josephine Baker, a square. Her image, rarely seen in the U.S., is widespread in Paris. There’s a swimming pool named for her too, in a barge floating on the Seine.