’s Combat. But to explain French interest in the civil rights of Blacks solely by anti-Americanism would produce a partial account for several reasons. Black Americans, such as Josephine Baker and Sidney Bechet, had been important figures in French cultural life during the inter-war decades, and in the post-war years Paris-settled writers such as Richard Wright and James Baldwin maintained this interest. Indeed, French affection for Americans was strong after 1918, as the role of the United States in contributing to France’s victory was recognized. Black American soldiers
James Baldwin's classic The Fire Next Time : ‘I do not know many Negroes who are eager to be “accepted” by white people, still less to be loved by them’ (Baldwin 1992 : 21). Freeing oneself from the very need for recognition from particular quarters is an essential part of liberation. Another great writer on the subject of oppressed nations
