Rokhaya Diallo speaks on Black French culture and identity

Photo courtesy of Jean-Marc Ferré for UN via Flickr. Rokhaya Diallo talked about her experience as a journalist and anti-racist activist in France.

By Sarah Bell ’25

Staff Writer

“Where do you come from?” is a question that Rokhaya Diallo has received all her life, despite being born and raised in France. According to Diallo, this complicated question normalized in French culture ignites a battle of proving one’s French identity while preserving one’s Black identity. 

On Tuesday, March 29, Smith College welcomed Diallo, a French-Senegalese journalist, filmmaker and author, to speak on a panel entitled “On the French Elections and Beyond.”

According to Mehammed Mack, associate professor of French studies at Smith College, “Rokhaya Diallo is the only prominent woman of color to have become a fixture of the nightly news talk shows and radio programs in France. … She brought intersectionality into general public discourse, and has drawn the ire of the right as well as a section of the left that adheres to rigid secularism.” 

“One of France’s most prominent anti-racism activists,” according to The New York Times, Diallo is a notable public figure in television and media. Born in Paris, Diallo graduated from Pantheon-Sorbonne with a degree in International Law, according to BlackPast. Her background in journalism stems from 15 years of coverage of the past three French elections. Diallo is also a published author, with a newly released book with her colleague, Grace Ly, titled, “Kiffe ta Race.” She has also written “Afro!” a picture book about the appreciation of Black natural hair, according to Goodreads. A true triple-threat, she has her hand in filmmaking, too, directing “De Paris à Ferguson: Coupables D'être Noirs” (2016) translated to English as “Paris to Ferguson: Guilty of Being Black,” and “Où sont les Noirs” translated as “Where are the Black People,” according to TV5 Unis. She is currently a researcher in residence at Georgetown’s Gender Justice Initiative in Washington D.C. 

“Prepare to face adversity and lose opportunities,” Diallo said during the panel, speaking on the downsides of speaking out within the journalism world. Diallo has been fired from previous jobs due to her outspoken nature, but has also gained many opportunities from it.

“Language is a real tool of intimidation,” she said to the crowd. She advised young female journalists to be confident in what they are speaking about. Diallo doesn’t spend time on people who don’t want to take the time to learn from her regarding racism in France, though she emphasized that she is explicit with people who do want to take the time to educate themselves. 

Carolyn Shread, senior lecturer in French at Mount Holyoke and faculty exchange professor at Smith, an attendee of the panel, looks to Diallo as a trailblazer in disrupting that pattern of the male-dominated discourse. “Diallo’s voice helps correct the erasures and bring us to a more equitable space, in which we hear from more than the happy few. We need — as soon as possible — for other people to join her so that she is not left to carry the burden of speaking alone.”

Diallo presented a clip she edited called “Qu’est ce que le Manterrupting,” meaning the interruption of female journalists and politicians by male voices. Diallo spoke on “preserving the art of speaking.” She felt like she wasn’t taken seriously in workspaces — however, speaking in a more assertive manner has helped her debate and assimilate in these spaces.

She also spoke on the candidates of the French presidential election, specifically on Marine Le Pen, the current president of the National Rally, and Eric Zemmour, who has made openly racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim remarks, according to The Economist. It is unprecedented in recent years for France to have two far-right candidates so high in popularity.

One question for the panel was about the importance of inclusivity, particularly regarding the underrepresentation of African and Caribbean female and nonbinary voices from Francophone and Lusophone countries. Diallo stated that the preservation of these works by diverse writers and the recentering of today’s notable Francophone African and Caribbean voices, such as Françoise Verges, Awa Thiam, and Paulette Nardal can bring attention to this.

Diallo and Mack recommended several Francophone contemporaries, activists and historical figures, including Louis Delgrès, Toumi Djaïdja and Albert Memmi.