James Baldwin was an American writer and activist who is known for his opposition to racial injustice and oppression. While in his twenties, he left New York and went on to spend several years of his life in France, where he worked on his first novel. In his book No Name in the Street, he drew parallels between the experiences of Africans in the U.S. and Algerians in France.
Baldwin came to Paris in an attempt to escape racism at home in the U.S., as well as homophobic views held by the general public. Essentially, the writer believed that in France, he would not be perceived and judged by his race and instead would find peace. He was well-received there, but soon he discovered the conflict between the French and the Algerians, which allowed him to determine certain similarities between the treatment of Arabs in France and that of Africans in America. He saw that the Parisians thought that Algerians were lazy because they sat in cafes all day and drank their tea.
Yet, Baldwin saw the harsh reality of Arabs living in Paris and how they simply could not find any work. Moreover, they were put into prisons and murdered by the authorities because of their nationality (Baldwin, 2013). This enabled him to form an idea that Africans in the U.S. and Algerians in France were in a similar position as people who were historically oppressed by the Europeans, whom he called “victims of this history” (Baldwin, 2013, p. 41). On the other hand, he noted that while Algerians still retained their national allegiance and a place they called home, American blacks lost it and were alone.
In his book, No Name in the Street, James Baldwin managed to indicate the similarities and differences between American blacks and Algerians. He went to Paris to seek refuge from the racial injustice and prejudice he faced in the U.S. Yet, there, he came to an understanding that Africans and Arabs shared the same experience of being oppressed by the Europeans.
Reference
Baldwin, J. (2013). No name in the street. Vintage.