Black Expats in Paris: A Successful Meetup Group - Part 2

Black Expats in Paris is a hugely popular Meetup group that was founded in February 2013 as a means of connecting expatriates of African descent. It is the brainchild of Chicagoan Keenya Hofmaier, a mixed-race woman of German and African-American ancestry. After getting the group off to a solid start, Keenya handed the reins over to group member Bintou Murielle. Bintou subsequently assembled a group of four persons to help her organize events, one of whom is Ebonee Harden.

Ebonee granted Discover Paris! an exclusive interview, allowing us to "peek behind the curtain" and see what makes Black Expats in Paris so successful. Part 2 focuses on some of the group's special interests and a spin-off Meetup group.

Fête National Picnic at Champs de Mars - Ebonee (left) and Abbey (right)
Image courtesy of Black Expats in Paris 2015
DP!: You have different clubs under the Black Expats in Paris umbrella. For example, there’s the African Diaspora Culinary Club. When did you launch this and why?

EH: As someone who has studied African Diaspora culture in college, whose parents were members of the Black Panther party, who is an active member of an historically African-American sorority, and whose little sister is at UC Berkeley earning a Ph.D in African Diaspora studies, I found it odd that the group activities weren’t more focused on enjoying the different cultural aspects of the diaspora like music, food, art, etc. As a self-proclaimed Foodie, I thought food was an easy way to share the diversity of African Diaspora cuisine across the world.

So far, this "club" has been really successful, with 10-15 people joining us monthly to share a meal. We launched it with a 4th of July picnic and over 25 people came! Everyone brought something that represented their culture and it was such a lovely experience to see the diversity and the similarities between our respective cultural dishes.

African Diaspora Culinary Club Picnic: 4th of July
From left to right: Rita, Mohammed, Bintou, Diane, Kehryse, Ola,
Adia, Megan, Ebonee, Abbey, Galem, and Michelle
Image courtesy of Black Expats in Paris 2015
DP!: What kinds of things does the Culinary Club do?

EH: The Culinary Club isn’t really a club, per se. It’s just a bi-monthly gathering to share cuisine from the African Diaspora. However, the last dinner of the year will be a Thanksgiving Dinner hosted in November, which will focus on African-American Thanksgiving culinary traditions.

As of 2016, the African Diaspora Culinary Club will be hosted in a new Meetup group called “La Vie en Black: An AfroDiasporique Experience.” This group will have an accompanying Website and Facebook group to foster cross-cultural exchange across the African Diaspora in Paris through events like the “African Diaspora Culinary Club” and “Black People Who Brunch Club.” In addition, the group will focus on having group members host their own events, share important information (i.e. where to get hair products, Black medical doctors in Paris, etc.), and connect activity partners like those looking for someone to travel with, etc.

The new group is still in the works and many of the new group’s leaders, like myself, will still be active with Black Expats of Paris. However, Black Expats of Paris has a very particular focus and vision and I believe moving the African Diaspora Culinary Club to a different group will make more sense.

DP!: What are some of the other clubs in Black Expats in Paris? When did you launch them and why?

EH: The only other club is “Brunch Club,” which is the also hosted by me. While living in New York for 4 years, I became an avid bruncher and when I first came to Paris, I was disappointed to find that brunching wasn’t such a big thing here. Moreover, when I did find a place that offered brunch, the cost was astronomical and the offerings left much to be desired.

In addition, I hated being the only Black person at brunch and so I started the club to have people to go to brunch with. It’s been super successful, with a bevy of women from all over the diaspora coming out to brunch on a monthly basis. The last “Brunch Club” of the year will be in October (see the Meetup group for more information).

In 2016, like the “African Diaspora Culinary Club,” the monthly brunch events will be hosted by “La Vie en Black: An Afro-diasporique Experience.”

DP!: What do you most appreciate about Black Expats in Paris?

EH: I appreciate the opportunity to connect with people who look like me. It’s something many people can take for granted, but it’s so comforting to be in a part of a group where my normal i.e. what I eat, how I do my hair, etc. is their normal too. And, even when there are major differences like language, religion, or politics, there is something about common ancestry that allows us to be fully present in understanding and overcoming these differences.

As a Black American who was raised being very active in my local Black community, it was a shock to come to Paris and not have Black women and men to connect with via church, social organizations, etc. Black Expats in Paris has been a gateway to bridging that gap for myself and many others who either grew up as part of a thriving Black community or who yearn to have the experience.

Most importantly, I believe my new Meetup group, “La Vie en Black: An Afro-diasporique Experience,” will go even further in this area of community building by allowing people to connect by interests, hosting travel opportunities together, and even co-hosting events with other local “Black” meet-up groups.

End of Summer Drinks - Judith (looking at the camera)
Image courtesy of Black Expats in Paris 2015
DP!: Are there any criteria for membership?

EH: Yes, be a human who loves and appreciates (and never appropriates) Black/African culture.

DP!: Tell us where people can find you on line.

EH: Black Expats in Paris can be found at http://www.meetup.com/Black-Expats-in-Paris/

And as of 2016, ““La Vie en Black: An Afro-diasporique Experience,” can be found on Meetup, Facebook, Twitter and on the Website: www.afrodiasporique.com

DP!: Any last thoughts?

EH: If you would like to be a member, host events, or sponsor these two meetups, then please contact me, Ebonee Harden, at . Both groups need all the help, love, and support we can get!

To read Part 1 of this article, click HERE.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

Black Expats in Paris: A Successful Meetup Group - Part 1

Black Expats in Paris is a hugely popular Meetup group that was founded in February 2013 as a means of connecting expatriates of African descent. It is the brainchild of Chicagoan Keenya Hofmaier, a mixed-race woman of German and African-American ancestry. After getting the group off to a solid start, Keenya handed the reins over to group member Bintou Murielle. Bintou subsequently assembled a group of four persons to help her organize events, one of whom is Ebonee Harden.

Ebonee granted Discover Paris! an exclusive interview, allowing us to "peek behind the curtain" and see what makes Black Expats in Paris so successful. Part 1 focuses on the demographics and activities of the group.

Fête National Picnic at Champs de Mars - Ebonee (left) and Abbey (right)
Image courtesy of Black Expats in Paris 2015
DP!: Tell us about you.

EH: I’m from Berkeley, California, but did my studies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and Columbia University in New York. I studied International Relations with a minor in American Studies & Ethnicity-African American Studies.

While in college I first became interested in France and French culture, primarily through studying the language. However, my senior year of college I had the opportunity to write an honors thesis and chose to focus on Black American expatriates as Cultural Ambassadors. My university then funded a brief 2-week trip to Paris so that I could interview various Black Americans living there and find out about their experiences. It was at that moment I fell in love with Paris and the quality of life living in France could afford.

That was 2005 and since then I have spent a year working here as a Language Assistant with the Ministry of Education and a summer as an intern with the American Church of Paris. Now I have been here for over 3 years straight as a graduate student and part-time English Professor. In fact, when I first moved here to teach with the Ministry of Education, I myself started a Black Expatriate Meetup group and although the membership numbers were less than 200, the group was really successful. Unfortunately, when I left Paris I shut down the group, but I was thrilled to see a new one when I returned for my graduate studies.

When Bintou needed to take time away from Black Expats in Paris for personal reasons, I stepped up to host the majority of events of this summer as a way to meet more people and share my love of Black culture and Paris.

Bintou Murielle with actor OC Ukeje at Nollywood Film Festival
Image courtesy of Black Expats in Paris 2015
DP!: “African-Americans, Afro-Europeans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, Africans” – you have a diverse group of Africans and persons of African descent. Can you give us a breakdown in percentages of the number of each group?

EH: This isn’t an exact number, but the majority of the active group members are Afro-Europeans and Afro-Caribbeans. These are usually French people of African descent. The next major category would be Africans, people born in Francophone / former French colonies who came to France as adults. African Americans would be the next group as well as other Anglophone people of African descent. Lastly, we have Afro-Latinos and European people.

DP!: What is the age range of members?

EH: Most members are between the ages of 22-45, although we have some very active members older than 45, which brings a nice mix to things.

DP!: How many are men and how many are women?

EH: The majority of active group members are women, although now that we have a man on our leadership team, the lovely Paterne Gaye, has been trying to host events that appeal to a wider audience.

DP!: How many people are joining each month?

EH: On average about 10-15 people join each month.

DP!: What kinds of events does Black Expats in Paris organize?

EH: In the past, we mostly hosted happy hours, movie nights, plays and dinner/lunch events with a focus on simply having the chance to get together and enjoy each other's company. Fpr the past 6 months or so, we've started to host more events that connect to the African Diaspora through food, music, dance, art, film, etc. We also started to host more free or low-cost events as we have many students in our group and wanted to respect their budget constraints.

We've found that by offering so many events each month, some members never had a chance to connect with others because many members were scattered over various events. So for the Autumn/Winter season, we have now started to host only four events a month, with one event focusing on sharing a meal, one on grabbing a drink, one with a cultural component, and one being a large scale event where attendance isn’t restricted. We're only a month in, so we’ll see how this new set-up meets the needs of our members.

Come back to the ETBP blog for Part 2 of this interview, which focuses on some of the group's special interests and a spin-off Meetup group.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

NollywoodWeek Debuts in Paris

This week's blog post is courtesy of Keenya Hofmaier, organizer of Black Expats in Paris!

Last month, France hosted two very different but equally important film festivals - the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and the little-known Nollywood Film Festival. While Hollywood went south to Cannes, Nollywood premiered its festival for the first time in Paris from May 30, 2013 to June 3, 2013.

Entrance to theater for NollywoodWeek
Image courtesy of Keenya Hofmaier
Nollywood is Nigeria's multi-million dollar film industry, second only to Bollywood in terms of film production. I must admit, I never heard the term "Nollywood" before and knew very little of Nigeria's cinematic talents. I searched the film festival's website (www.nollywoodweek.com) and was thoroughly surprised by the film selection and engaging synopses.

I am the organizer of a group called "Black Expats in Paris," and as luck would have it, one of our members was an organizer of the film festival and arranged for our group to attend.

Black Expats in Paris at NollywoodWeek
Image courtesy of Keenya Hofmaier
We saw the film "Maami," which is a heart-wrenching yet uplifting story about a desperately poor, single mother trying to raise her brave and talented son. Though the acting is overly dramatic at times, the film keeps viewers engaged. The plot twists and turns with secret revelations from the mother's past and the unimaginable acts of a father that the boy never knew.

The director of this film, Tunde Kelani, is more than a director. In fact, many give him credit for creating Nollywood, saying the industry didn't exist until his films did. I had the chance to speak with Kelani personally to discuss "Maami" and his film career. One would be pleased to hear that most of his films are inspired by community story-telling and literature.

Director Tunde Kelani and Keenya Hofmaier
Image courtesy of Keenya Hofmaier
Kelani commented, "I recognized the importance of literature and chose to create a cinematic adaption from literature. Africans, in telling stories, must look inward and use literary resources and celebrate our writers. Since no one reads anymore, it's important to introduce literature through another medium."

I commented that his "cause" seems to be the advancement and prosperity of his community. Kelani responded, "The theme of this film was about growing up in a poor background with very few resources. But that doesn't matter because through education and sports, you can be something in life. Nigerian people are not born wealthy, but we can read stories like these or see stories like these and have hope. That's what it's about."

The film festival may be over, but Nollywood is just beginning. I would definitely recommend passing over Hollywood and even Bollywood for your next movie craving. Nollywood has thousands of powerful and uplifting stories to be told.

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Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

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