African Americans in Paris: The 1960s

Sherard Van Dyke has been living, painting and exhibiting in Amsterdam for the past 45 years. She was inspired to write to me after having read Ellery Washington's New York Times article on James Baldwin's Paris. She sent such a stirring account of her recollections of African-American Paris in the 1960s that I immediately asked her to allow me to publish it. Find it below.

Sherard Van Dyke and Sarah Vaughn
Image courtesy of Sherard Van Dyke
Yesterday, after reading the Sunday New York Times article on James Baldwin's Paris era, I began reminiscing about my own youthful years living in that beautiful city. And how the color of my skin impacted the beginning of my 50-year-long painting career.

Due to my fear of flying, I was constantly traveling from Brooklyn to Saint Germain and back again on the SS France, Cunard, & Holland-American ocean liners. On my first transatlantic voyage, Alexander Calder was among the passengers and spent many a night hanging out with us – a group of young French & American kids whom the captain had introduced, and who loved dancing as much as I did. Seems like we never slept during those five days and nights – The Supremes hits were on a loop, the champagne was a-flowing, and each of us was showing off our latest dance moves – all while enjoying every minute of Calder's fascinating anecdotes about his mobiles and stabiles that we had just been studying in college.

Josephine Baker IV
ca. 1928 Alexander Calder
Centre Georges Pompidou
© Discover Paris!
Looking back, I guess this was an omen of many magical, artistic adventures to come.

Although the Times article is full of names and places of years gone by, I remember many others that were not mentioned. Like Johnny Romero and Les Nuages. I hadn't thought about Johnny in decades, so I Googled him. That's how I found your informative site – what a wonderful treasure!

Photo of Johnny Romero
© Discover Paris!
For me, the Paris of the mid-and-late-Sixties conjures up wonderful visions of the amazing Dexter Gordon, living and practicing in the Hotel la Louisiane on rue de Seine, as so many other great jazz musicians did in the day. Bud Powell had sadly passed away shortly before I arrived, but his wife Buttercup was still living at the hotel. She also had a little eatery called Buttercup's Chicken Shack in Montparnasse, known for her late-night fried chicken and ribs.

Up in Pigalle, Leroy Haynes had a most delicious restaurant with the best soul food on this side of the Atlantic. Filled with celebrities, expats, and framed, signed portraits on the wall, it had the most appetizing home-cooking imaginable. Quite a special delight! Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, among others, were often seen there. Haynes was an impeccable chef, a nice gentle man with a terrific sense of humor. We spent many memorable evenings there enjoying all the special dishes on the menu. Even his Greasy Pig Salad (mixed greens, herbs, crispy bacon & secret dressing) was a feast in itself - with hot cornbread from the oven and deep-dish cobbler for dessert.

Drummer Kenny Clarke was always on the scene and the Living Room was one of the most happening places. Through a friend of my mother's in New York, I had met saxophonist Nathan Davis and his wife Uschi, close friends of Eric Dolphy. This exceptionally nice couple lived nearby on rue St Jacques – just a few minutes from rue de la Huchette, which was chock full of amazing clubs in which we heard the best jazz on this planet until well after dawn each morning.

Painters Ed Clark and Bill Hutson, among others, were working and exhibiting in town. Bill was so helpful when we all signed petitions to aid Beauford Delaney in trying to keep ownership of his magnificent paintings after he had been institutionalized due to illness. My very close French friend, Ecole de Nice artist Robert Malaval, also had a studio in Cité Internationale des Arts, where I met a number of American artists.

Ed Clark and Beauford Delaney
Image courtesy of Ed Clark
Miles Davis and Juliette Greco were an item and an ubiquitous vision in Saint Germain's Cafe de Flore, along with their dearest ami, the esteemed Jean-Paul Sartre. Artist Keith de Carlo and his wife Maria were always the nicest and most engaging hosts in their home facing Gare d'Orsay (long before it became a museum).

My studio was on rue de la Bucherie, right across from Notre Dame and two minutes away from George Whitman's iconic Shakespeare and Company bookstore. The original venue had been opened by Sylvia Beach. Shakespeare and Company has always been the perfect home-away-from-home for many a gifted writer. Both Langston Hughes and Ted Joans were among the many who gave memorable readings in this historic meeting place with its wishing-well and a gazillion books.

Shakespeare and Company
© Discover Paris!
Huge, photographic closeups of Hazel Scott, Mabel Mercer, Nina Simone could often be seen in les affiches all around the city announcing their latest gigs. Not one or two poster-sized photos, but a dozen at a time! Repetition characterized the French way of advertising.

Donyale Luna was THE model of the 60's in Paris. Born in Detroit, her extraordinary beauty mesmerized all who encountered her. Federico Fellini took one look at her and signed her up for his fantasy film Satyricon. A few years later Pat Cleveland came to town and changed modeling for ever.

Designer Donald Hubbard from Gary, Indiana worked in Paris, as well as in Milan and Florence. His beautiful apartment on the quay faced the Eiffel Tower...what a view that was from his grand, living-room French doors!

In Johnny Romero's Les Nuages, one would be in the midst of the most eloquent, African-American who's-who gathering of literary and artistic worlds. Romero was very handsome, the perfectly charming host, and evenings there were always exciting.

At Gordon Heath and Lee Payant's club l'Abbaye, I remember how audiences snapped their fingers instead of clapping in appreciation for Heath and Payant's folk song performances.

Gordon Heath and Lee Payant
Image from Gordon Heath and Lee Payant Discography
Sometimes, at La Coupole – the world-renowned, huge, sumptuous restaurant on the Boulevard Montparnasse – we would spot Josephine Baker somewhere in the room, bedecked with jewels and furs, looking like a million dollars. Tout Paris adored her beauty, talent, and exuberance, as did the expats who applauded her tenacity, grace and fortitude.

These are just a few of the many African Americans who made Paris so terribly exciting in the Sixties.

Memories from those days are so rich, and thanks to the City of Light – my Jazz Art evolved there, and I've been painting and exhibiting ever since. Paris will always have a special place in my heart.

C'était FORMIDABLE!!!!

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Leroy Haynes: Memories of My Father

Several weeks ago I learned that Dorothy Haynes-Griffin, daughter of the legendary Paris expat and restaurant owner Leroy Haynes, faithfully follows the Entrée to Black Paris (ETBP) blog and Facebook page. Dorothy wrote to me to ask whether Leroy was included in any of the ETBP walks that I've created and I was pleased to answer "Yes - he's part of our 'In the Shadow of Montmartre' walk." We struck up a virtual conversation and she subsequently granted me this exclusive interview about Leroy and her memories of him. Enjoy!

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin
Image courtesy of Dorothy Haynes-Griffin
ETBP: Your father, Leroy Haynes, was a Paris legend. So was his restaurant on rue Clauzel. What are your memories of the restaurant?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: Before my sister and I were born, my father and mother were married about 8 years. I have early memories of the restaurant. We would play within the doorways of the famous place. Darting about as kids do. I loved the smell of the spices that came from the kitchen; the cave-like restaurant with its red checkered table clothes had a homey feeling. I remembered sometimes Leroy would occasionally spend his down time reading what I believe was the Chicago Tribune and reacting to the articles he would be reading. It made no sense to me what he was saying, at that time I spoke only French. My mother worked in the restaurant as well as her brother, Uncle Jacques.

ETBP: Your mom moved you and your sister Sophie to New York City when you were four years old. Tell me what you remember about your life in Paris prior to moving there.

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: Prior to living in New York, life in Paris was busy and comfortable. My mother took the responsibility for caring for my sister and me. At the time, we lived in a small flat a few doors down from the restaurant. We were enrolled in a French Pre-K school that was serious, strict and organized. I enjoyed the structure of the little school and found the experience very positive. I remember the teachers gave us a strong sense of being French with little talks about how important it was.

ETBP: Your mother made sure that you returned to Paris during the summer. Tell us about this experience.

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: It would be about four years before we would travel back to France after leaving Paris in 1972. My sister and I stayed with our father at his house. He had a building next door to the restaurant — a huge two-level space where my brother, Richard, shared an apartment with his girlfriend Candy. It was a great place to be as a kid. It had old stairs leading up to the second floor and many rooms to venture into. I remember really enjoying the back yard and playing with my sister.

Sophie, Dorothy, and Leroy Haynes
Image courtesy of Dorothy Haynes-Griffin
ETBP: You mention a brother, Richard. Tell us more about your family.

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: My sister Sophie and I have the same mother, Elizabeth Barthelemy. She was Leroy’s second wife. My brother Richard is the son of Gabrielle, who was my father’s first wife and the one well known for opening the first restaurant with him on rue Manuel. When visiting, I would spend a lot of time with my brother and always wished that we could live closer to each other. Maria Haynes was Leroy's last wife. She was from Portugal, and as a young lady, she caught the eye of Leroy while married to my mother. They never had children. Maria had a daughter from a previous relationship. They stayed married, working together in the restaurant until his death in 1986.

Young Richard Haynes
Image courtesy of Dorothy Haynes-Griffin
Elizabeth Barthelemy and Maria Haynes at the restaurant on rue Clauzel
Image courtesy of Dorothy Haynes-Griffin
ETBP: Would you describe your dad as a family man?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: A family man by today's standards is pretty different from that of the Leroy's generation (he was born in 1914). I don’t think it was clear to him what to do exactly. It seemed like there were some cultural misunderstandings between my mom and him. He took care of the work aspect and earned money and was able to build a career. He experienced life the way he wanted to, unlike his early life in America.

ETBP: When did you realize how popular and important your father was on the Paris scene?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: I always knew Leroy was special, mostly because he was my father. His character and persona was big, robust and sometimes unpredictable, and he was a great story teller. I think it was his nature to try to make people feel good through connecting and feeding them!

As a kid, I never really knew the full impact he made in Paris, not only with the French but within the African-American community that visited France and returned home with many stories. He had lots of friends, and when we went to the market in the morning to shop for the evening dinner service, local merchants would yell hello in French, waving and smiling. They seemed happy to meet my sister and me and of course that made us feel like little celebrities.

Portrait of Leroy Hayes at Haynes' Restaurant, rue Clauzel
© Discover Paris!
There were several times in New York were my sister and I were awakened in the late night to hear "Your father's on TV - wake up," and my sister and I would come running into the living room to see our father shooting at some guys on television. It was funny.

ETBP: Is the fact that you are Leroy Haynes’ daughter important to people in the U.S. today?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: I think for some it is interesting that I am Leroy’s daughter. I have met a lot of older black Americans that remember Leroy well, and they remember the experience they had at the restaurant, the food etc. I am always greeted with a funny story that includes memories of Leroy’s generosity. Younger people, unless they've had the opportunity to travel or research the lives of expatriates, don’t know who Leroy was. That's why what you do (ETBP walking tours) is very important.

I love that Leroy touched so many people, as I can still get a sense of that through the stories that are told to me. It turns out that one of my closest friends, Delorys Welch-Tyson, knew Leroy. He helped her out with changing her American currency to French Francs. It was an ironic moment when she discovered I was his daughter. This kind of thing has happened a lot over the years. Another friend and actress, Juliette Farley, had a father in the military who ate at the restaurant and knew of Leroy during the war. Mr. Farley also married a French woman and they now live in Texas. In a lot of ways, I have built on friendships that were originally started by Leroy.

ETBP: Did Leroy's "fame" impact your life as a child?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: Leroy’s success was a story that I connected to the more I researched his early life in America. Because of a huge generation gap, family members in America were never really mentioned. I spent some years piecing together the puzzle of his early life that gave me a bigger picture of him. A lot of his family members were much older and had passed by the time I became really interested in our genealogy. One of his uncles was James “Bigstick” McCurine who played for the Hartford Giants, Chicago Lincoln Giants, Chicago Brown Bombers, Chicago American Giants and retired suddenly after an arm injury. There was his mother, Lena McCurine-Evans, my grandmother who lived in Chicago and was a vowed Christian. She spent her older years devoted to her church in Chicago called the Greater Union Baptist Church. I never did meet ol’ Lena!

ETBP: When did Leroy pass away?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: April 1986. I was on the M104 bus coming home from junior high school. I sat next to a woman who was reading a magazine named "Chocolate Singles," a known black single's magazine at the time. As the woman turned the page I saw a full article on my father and Chez Haynes Restaurant. I saw the picture of Leroy in the middle of the article. He looked so old and unhealthy and I had a sudden panic attack when I saw it. A few weeks later, my brother called to tell us Leroy had died. There were many calls from Paris, from my brother. Sadly we were unable to go to Paris that year.

His resting place was Cimetière Père Lachaise until 2005. Then he was moved to the Jardin Cinéraire de Thiais by his wife Maria.

ETBP: What is your fondest memory of your father?

Dorothy Haynes-Griffin: It was the early afternoon and Leroy and I sat at a table in the restaurant, the one by the door and the very big windows covered in white lace. I was about 7 years old, and somehow we landed on a conversation about food. He asked me what I liked to eat (he was trying to figure out what to cook for me); I replied I was a vegetarian. He disappeared to the restaurant’s kitchen and returned several minutes later with a fried zucchini…delicious!

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