{"product_id":"too-black-to-be-french-hardcover","title":"Too Black to Be French - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eIsabelle Boni-Claverie\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJoshua David Jordan\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eKaiama Glover\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner, Grand Prize, French Voices Award\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eToo Black to Be French\u003c\/i\u003e, Isabelle Boni-Claverie navigates the complexities of identity, race, and family in a world that constantly questions her belonging. Boni-Claverie's singular account interweaves the extraordinary life experiences of three generations of her family: her grandfather from Ivory Coast, who married a middle-class white woman from southern France in the 1930s; her biological parents, and her mixed-race aunt and white upper-class uncle who adopted her; as well as her own life as a successful film director and writer faced with abiding stereotypes and discrimination. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten with humor and aplomb, Boni-Claverie's narrative examines the enduring effects of France's colonial past and the deep-seated structural prejudices affecting Black people in a country that prides itself on stories of its hospitality toward African Americans fleeing segregation. Updating this picture to reveal the complexities and challenges of being Black in France where discussion of race is often taboo, Boni-Claverie offers an American readership rare insights into racial dynamics on both sides of the Atlantic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eToo Black to Be French\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a sociological portrait of France, a multicultural family album, and a transatlantic coming-of-age story. It will appeal to readers eager for a passionate fresh voice devoted to better understanding the challenges of today's world and the courage it takes to overcome them. Through vivid storytelling, Boni-Claverie invites readers to traverse a path filled with emotional depth, cultural introspection, and a quest for acceptance.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eUnraveling the Complexities of Identity in a World of Racial Prejudices \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner, Grand Prize, French Voices Award\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This book is one of the greatest pleas against exclusions that have so far prevented France from becoming aware of the diversity of its population.\"--\u003cb\u003eAlain Mabanckou\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eBlack Moses\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Isabelle Boni-Claverie offers us a powerful work that explores with depth and honesty the complex realities of Black identity in France. Through her personal story and clear-eyed analyses, she highlights the insidious discrimination and challenges faced by Black people in contemporary French society. An illuminating read for anyone looking to understand the mechanisms of systemic racism.\"--\u003cb\u003eRokhaya Diallo\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eRacism: A Guide\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"At this particular moment in time, when France's minority populations--peoples of color, descendants of empire--are demanding with increasing force that France grapple meaningfully with the nation's past and recalibrate its present conditions of citizenship and belonging, the notion that a citizen of the republic can be 'too Black to be French' is a profoundly necessary provocation\"--\u003cb\u003eKaiama L. Glover\u003c\/b\u003e, from the Foreword \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eToo Black to Be French\u003c\/i\u003e, Isabelle Boni-Claverie navigates the complexities of identity, race, and family in a world that constantly questions her belonging. Boni-Claverie's singular account interweaves the extraordinary life experiences of three generations of her family: her grandfather from Ivory Coast, who married a middle-class white woman from southern France in the 1930s; her biological parents, and her mixed-race aunt and white upper-class uncle who adopted her; as well as her own life as a successful film director and writer faced with abiding stereotypes and discrimination. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten with humor and aplomb, Boni-Claverie's narrative examines the enduring effects of France's colonial past and the deep-seated structural prejudices affecting Black people in a country that prides itself on stories of its hospitality toward African Americans fleeing segregation. Updating this picture to reveal the complexities and challenges of being Black in France where discussion of race is often taboo, Boni-Claverie offers an American readership rare insights into racial dynamics on both sides of the Atlantic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eToo Black to Be French\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a sociological portrait of France, a multicultural family album, and a transatlantic coming-of-age story. It will appeal to readers eager for a passionate fresh voice devoted to better understanding the challenges of today's world and the courage it takes to overcome them. Through vivid storytelling, Boni-Claverie invites readers to traverse a path filled with emotional depth, cultural introspection, and a quest for acceptance.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Isabelle Boni-Claverie\u003c\/b\u003e is a French filmmaker, screenwriter, and author. At eighteen, she won second prize for the Young Francophone Writer Award for her first novel, \u003ci\u003eLa Grande D?voreuse\u003c\/i\u003e. In 2005, Danny Glover asked her to adapt Val?rie Tong Cuong's novel, \u003ci\u003eO? je suis\u003c\/i\u003e, into the screenplay \u003ci\u003eHeart of Blackness\u003c\/i\u003e. She has since written numerous television dramas and series, including the comedy \u003ci\u003eSex, Okra and Salted Butter\u003c\/i\u003e (ARTE), \u003ci\u003eSeconde Chance\u003c\/i\u003e (TF1), \u003ci\u003eCoeur Oc?an\u003c\/i\u003e (France 2), and \u003ci\u003ePlus Belle La Vie\u003c\/i\u003e (France 3), the most watched TV series in France. Two of her first short films, \u003ci\u003ePour la nuit\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLe G?nie d'Abou\u003c\/i\u003e won international awards. Broadcast for the first time on the Franco-German television channel ARTE in 2015, her documentary \u003ci\u003eToo Black to Be French?\u003c\/i\u003e was a hit both with audiences and the media and screened internationally. She has produced and cowritten a documentary about diversity at the Paris Opera that will air on ARTE this year.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIsabelle Boni-Claverie (Author) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIsabelle Boni-Claverie \u003c\/b\u003eis a French filmmaker, screenwriter, and author. At eighteen, she won second prize for the Young Francophone Writer Award for her first novel, \u003ci\u003eLa Grande D?voreuse\u003c\/i\u003e. In 2005, Danny Glover asked her to adapt Val?rie Tong Cuong's novel, \u003ci\u003eO?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eje suis\u003c\/i\u003e, into the screenplay \u003ci\u003eHeart of Blackness\u003c\/i\u003e. She has since written numerous television dramas and series, including the comedy \u003ci\u003eSex, Okra and Salted Butter \u003c\/i\u003e(ARTE), \u003ci\u003eSeconde Chance \u003c\/i\u003e(TF1), \u003ci\u003eCoeur Oc?an \u003c\/i\u003e(France 2), and \u003ci\u003ePlus Belle La Vie \u003c\/i\u003e(France 3), the most watched TV series in France. Two of her first short films, \u003ci\u003ePour la\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003enuit \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eLe G?nie d'Abou \u003c\/i\u003ewon international awards. Broadcast for the first time on the Franco-German television channel ARTE in 2015, her documentary \u003ci\u003eToo Black to Be French? \u003c\/i\u003ewas a hit both with audiences and the media and screened internationally. She has produced and cowritten a documentary about diversity at the Paris Opera that will air on ARTE this year. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eKaiama Glover (Foreword By) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eKaiama L. Glover \u003c\/b\u003eis Ann Whitney Olin Professor of French and Africana Studies at Barnard College. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Regarded\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSelf: Caribbean Womanhood and the Ethics of Disorderly Being\u003c\/i\u003e (2020) and \u003ci\u003eHaiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eCanon \u003c\/i\u003e(2010). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoshua David Jordan (Translator) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJoshua David Jordan\u003c\/b\u003e is Senior Lecturer in French at Fordham University. He has translated works by Etienne Balibar, Jean Hatzfeld, and David Lapoujade and is a two-time winner of the French Voices Award. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.81 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 04, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51773033185568,"sku":"9781531508081","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/866795f57652502af737fa72ce88ccda.webp?v=1780418541","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/too-black-to-be-french-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}