On Friday the 28th of September, the Lycée held its second annual “James Baldwin Day” for students from 10th to 12th grade. This event was created last year in honor of James Baldwin, an American-born writer who spent much of his career in France. According to Mrs. Aufses, who heads the English Department and introduced the day, Baldwin “sought to understand and celebrate his racial heritage as it was expressed throughout Europe, Africa, the Caribbean as well as in the US.”
The day began with captivating poetry such as “Femme Nue, Femme Noire” by Leopold Sedar Senghor, chosen to link to the film “Mariannes Noires” that would be seen later that day, as well as an excerpt from the novel “Petit Pays” by Gaël Faye, who visited the school in late October.
Our morning presentation ended with a show from the Sabrosura Effect with the dancers Beatrice Capote and Miguel Aparicio and their team. They performed Afro-Cuban dance, which, like many of the workshops, related to the day’s focus on “interconnected identities.” The dancers engaged with the students by inviting them onstage. One student said that she enjoyed the performance and called it “an enlightening experience.”
After the presentation in the auditorium, students participated in one of several workshops held by older students. The “Afro American Cuban Music & Dance” workshop reviewed Sabrosura Effect’s dance program and briefed students on the history behind it. Another workshop, “Exploring the Future of Identity Using New Media” was about race in the media and, as students said, “allowed us to understand different people’s points of view.” Neige Giacalone (Y10) also added, “I especially liked Baldwin Day for the discussions, as well as the fact that they mixed the grades for the workshops.” These workshops made the students share, create and explore new things. Jeanne Aublin (Y10) stated that “the Lycée should have more debates about race and ethnicity like these, so students can hear other people’s opinions and see things from different points of view.”
Finally, to end James Baldwin Day, we watched the documentary “Mariannes Noires” by Mame-Fatou Niang, whom we had the honor to welcome in our school. This movie is about where black women stand in France. The movie was “an eye opener for other people who may not be aware of the struggles of being a black woman in society, and especially being a black woman in French society,” said Ines Salvador Coumont (Y10). The movie also discusses the issue of representation. As another student said, “The movie was very interesting because we saw how black women are represented in France; they are represented very differently in America.” Such issues connect the filmmaker to Baldwin, who also raised complex questions about race, representation and identity.
In conclusion, James Baldwin Day should be celebrated by the school every year because of how it enlightens students about things they don’t usually discuss in the classroom. His legacy is celebrated in the secondary and hopefully, in the years to come, will be celebrated beyond the school.
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About the Author :
Before coming to the Lycée, Robin Aufses was the English department chair at J.F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York, and an English teacher at Schreiber High School in Port Washington, New York. Robin is the author of College-board published articles about literature and co-author of The Language of Composition, Literature and Composition and Conversations in American Literature. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Arthur, a lawyer. They have two children, Kate and Michael.