PARIS NOIRE: A VISIT TO THE SORBONNE! THE PINNACLE OF THE FRENCH EDUCATION SYSTEM, AND THE EMBODIMENT OF ITS PROUD HISTORY- 11/29/2013

The Universites De Paris, or Sorbonne. I will explain the difference between these two entities after this little opening statement. We know that the oldest University in the world is in Lund, Sweden. However, L'Universites De Paris, in the Sorbonne has a reputation dating back to the 1200. In the beginning, it was decreed by the Papacy in Rome for the study of Theology, specifically Catholicism. Although it was known since the 1200 as the Sorbonne. After the various Revolutionary periods of France, it slowly democratized to give access to all citizens of the French Republique a world class education. At the same time, it became a reference for its education of teachers, scientists of all fields, and the Law, while advocating an open system of discourse between students, teachers, theologians, and professors. There is a saying in the Sorbonne, repeated incessantly to us by our wonderful guide, Phillip Leget which states, "Being in the Sorbonne" and "Aller a la Sorbonne". The first quote designates Sorbonne as a State within the French Republic, which means that the security apparatus of the French State is not allowed to set foot into the Sorbonne; Sorbonne has its own guards for that purpose. This independence allows both students and professors to exchange and learn in an atmosphere of total academic freedom and open exchange. The second quote simply means, going to the Sorbonne, this designates its openness to all withing the French Republic. Starting with the worldwide students revolts of the 1960s, Sorbonne democratized even more, by transforming itself into the Universites De Paris System, with each University responsible for different disciplines: Paris I Sorbonne, is in the Sorbonne proper and specializes in Theology and World Religions; Paris II Sorbonne specializes in Law and is also the L'Ecole Normale Superieure D'administration or (ENA); Paris III Sorbonne specializes in the hard sciences Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy,and Medicine; and Paris IV Sorbonne Specializes on the Humanities, Fine Arts, Dance, Technology, Films, and Journalism The famous figures in the history of France who either funded, taught, or studied at the Sorbonne are titans of the nation of France: Marie Curie, Cardinal Richelieu, Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Voltaire, Senghor, Simone de Beauvoir, Cesaire, Hugo, Dumas, and Zola to name only a few. I will continue to revise these posts if I have made mistakes in my different explanations.
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PARIS NOIRE- THANKSGIVING IN PARIS! THANKS TO JOAN AND HER WONDERFUL HUSBAND...11/28/2013

Thanksgiving is the ultimate of American Holidays! It is the day Americans spend giving thanks to all that is dear in their lives: Abundant health, wonderful friends, family togetherness, prosperous lives, and peaceful co-existence extended to all who wish America harm! As an immigrant to the United States, Thanksgiving is very dear to my heart. My American friends throughout my stays in their country, have always opened their homes to me with generosity and neighborly love, to share and break bread with them, share in their wonderful turkey meals with all kinds of delicious additions, and finally watch Football all day long, with a little break to eat more and have multiplicity of pies! I wish the whole entire United States a Happy Thanksgiving! extra special wish extended towards those who have welcomed me into their wonderful homes in the past! May all the Gods of the universe bless Joan and her husband, Paul, for their generosity towards all of Dr. Carter's Paris Trip Students, for opening their house to us, and for preparing the most delicious Thanksgiving Soul Food in Paris! May the Gods bless Dr. Carter! May the Gods bless Lorene, Charles, Joel, Tye, Courtney, Tamara, and Kendall! May the Gods bless the French for hosting us in their wonderful city of lights, Paris!
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PARIS NOIR BLOG FOR 11/27/13--A day spent AU PANTHEON with my idols: HUGO, VOLTAIRE, BEAUMARCHAIS, CESAIRE, SENGHOR, ZOLA, SCHOELCHER.

Today was another productive day spent at the Pantheon, as the French say, "Au Pantheon"! This place is one of the most revered for heroes and courageous men in French History, at least , since it was decreed by Louis XV. We will not touch the history of Louis XV, but we will thank him for having the foresight to create this monumentally sacred place to honor the memory of all the Titans of French Culture! I walked from La Place St. Michel, after visiting the famous meeting place for friends when in Paris. It is where everybody rendez-vous before exploring the old city and its monuments. From St. Michel I headed towards La Sorbonne, with an objective of ending up at "Au Pantheon". From Boulevard St. Michel, I made a left onto La Rue Des Ecoles, from there I made a right onto La Rue St. Jacques. Boy, what a view going up this historical street! One feels as "Going Up To The Heavens". The designer of Le Pantheon new exactly what he was doing. From St. Jacques, I passed Le Lycee Louis Le Grand to my left and L'Universite de Paris on my right. I continued going up, and then, there it was on the left, Le Pantheon! An overwhelming emotional joy engulfed me, because I know ordinary men do not set foot inside that monument to the courageous and persevering men. Who now use it as their final resting place!
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PARIS NOIR: 11/26/2013--PRESENCE AFRICAINE--L'HARMATTAN

Yesterday, on my way back to the Rue Des Ecoles, the street on which Sorbonne is located, from that cathartic visit to Le Louvre Museum. I made a stop into two Librairie, that is the French term, its equivalent in English would be Publishing Houses: One is called Presence Africaine, it specializes in Authors from the Francophone Speaking African or Afro-Caribbean World, it has been around since the 1920s if I'm not mistaken. This publishing house was the first to publish works by Aime Cesaire, Senghor, and Diop. The second publishing house in which I made a visit is called L'Harmattan, this one specializes in philosophical works of all great philosophers from Europe, Old and New; from Socrates, Plato, Rousseau, Voltaire, all the way to Kant. I find myself retracing the lives of all the men I have always looked up to, as a reference to the way a human being ought to live and conduct oneself. One just need to read a book or a philosophical treatise by one of the Titans cited above to understand what I'm alluding to. All this happened yesterday on my walk through this Pantheon of a neighborhood! I've always wanted to live in few places till now; San Francisco, CA; Fria, Guinea; Sarasota, FL; Stockholm, Sweden; Seoul, Korea; Beijing, China; Martinique, French Antilles. Their are others I have not cited, or are absent from my memory due to the emotional and historical weight of this place. Now, I can unequivocally state that I would want to live in the Latin Quarter of Paris, on the Left Bank. I feel my father's presence all around me! my uncle Malick's presence everywhere! I feel Africa everywhere, and see Africa everywhere Yesterday evening, one of my young room-mate inserted the key to our apartment into the wrong key hole, a door next to ours. What followed next was nothing less than an adventure into the psycho-social behaviors, which is part of living life on earth. In the course of twenty four hours I experienced life itself! It's infancy or innocence; it's adolescence or middle and rebellious part; it's maturity or what I would call, a state in which a saintly figure from India once remarked, "To whom I should speak or preach? I see beauty in every living things"! Their exist goodness, understanding, honor, compassion, virtue, kindness, and all the virtuous acts in the world as emphasized by enlightened beings the world over. However, their also exist evil, sloth, deception, vanity, dishonesty, corruption, and general ugliness of all kinds. May be? Just may be? These two juxtaposed and diametrically opposed positions are what we call either: Beautiful! Ugly! Or, Mean! Interchangeable at times, sometimes expressed as good and at other times as bad! What is the difference between either extreme? I believe Good exists, but has to be managed! I also believe that evil exists, and it also has to be managed! The difference, then, becomes? Are there? Human beings endowed with a sense of justice, honor and courage, to manage either extreme in a calm, unconditional way with a dose of empathy for both the perpetrator and the victim of the latter! Enjoy These Picture From Paris!
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PARIS NOIR: REPRESENTATION OF AFRICANS OR BLACK PEOPLE IN PAINTINGS AT THE LOUVRE; PARIS 11/25/2013

I particularly enjoyed today's Tour of the Louvre. Le Louvre is a reference for museums around the world, for its preservation of collections of the highest order in painting, artifacts, and Egyptian Art pieces. The Egyptian Collections of Le Louvre is the most valued and most extensive in the world, which , certain parts are loaned to museums all around the world for expositions. The objective of our particular private visit to this historical museum was to have a private, group viewing of some of the painting masterpieces by French Masters, such as Perigault, and Delacroix. We looked at, with the help of the most knowledgeable expert in the field, a wonderful lady, who went by Anne Robin. Anne explained in details the appearance of and the symbolism behind Africans and Black People in the paintings of these masters. Through the scholarship of Anne, she explained to us in vivid details the presence of African or Black People in some of the paintings of both Perigault and Delacroix. The issue of slavery, servitude, redemption, and oppression is treated by both of these master
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PARIS NOIR: 11/24/2013

Today, we met Julia Brown at La Place St. Michel. Julia Brown is the owner of the tourist tour company called, "Walking The Spirit Tours": According to the tour brochure,"The Tour explores the rich cultural exchange between France, Black America and the Diaspora: Jazz, Education, Arts & Writing." Julia took us on a tour of Paris, and covered a perspective which I would pay a fortune to do over again. This Tour in conjunction with Julia's presentation style, coupled with her deep understanding of the subject, left me wishing for it to never come to an end! What a presence of history she has? What an understanding of the souls and lives of the writers, sculptors, artists, and Jazz Performers she embodied while treating their spirits with the utmost respect. Julia Brown should be teaching, "The Josephine Baker Story" to every person of African American Descent. I was mesmerized listening to her recount the lives of Sidney Bechet, the temperamental "New Orleans Style", King of Jazz; at a stand-still hearing her speak of Richard Wright, and his ferocious engagement for African Americans; her funny way of telling the story of Langston Hughes. Julia Brown's knowledge of African American presence in Paris is to be commanded. What a sweet, intelligent, and ravishing lady! I will repeat this Tour again with my children, my friends, and for my own enjoyment! What an enriching perspective of Paris from an African American view! Thank you, Miss Julia.
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Les Caz Noir Blog for 11/23/2013

The last time I set foot on French Soil was in the summer of 1991, as a Professional Tennis Player, starting in out in my tennis career against the big boys in the tennis game. I came through Paris with my older brother, Sekou, on our way to Spain, but playing a couple of tennis tournaments in the South of France before our Spanish adventure for that summer--On our return again, we made a stop through the incomparable French Capital, Paris! I'm making my return to Paris nearly 22 years later, with an incredible Professor of Africana Studies at The University of Arizona, Dr. Carter. Dr. Carter specializes and teaches the evolutionary history of African American Literature at the U of A; his emphasis is on the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance Writers, and all the contemporary African American Writers of the 20th and 21st Century. Dr. Carter is the epitome of a teacher! The kind of teacher who is competent in his field, but is also willing to take his students on a quest, even, he does not feel at ease about. Now, that is a teacher! He is so comfortable in his knowledge of his craft, but without being fearful of what he does not know. Therefore, he leads his students in the quest for scholarship, for information (The authentic, truthful and factual information.): A teacher who takes his students into the dark, "Unknown World of the Unknowable!") This is how combat arms soldiers, in the best combat arms units of the United States Army defines the unknown in combat. Dr. Carter is this kind of teacher! What a precious, generous, and giving prince of a man! Dr. Carter is chronicling the lives of famous African Americans who called "The City of Lights", Home! Since segregation was in full force in the United States, many of these talented individuals from diverse fields and backgrounds, were welcomed in France with open arms, and celebrated like famous French high achievers. Dr. Carter brings his knowledge of modern technology and its many creative modes of presentation, to help his students present the stories of these titanic African Americans to the next generation: Men and Woman such as, the founder of the NAACP, W.E.B. Dubois; the Jazz Saxaphonist and Clarinetist, founder of the "New Orleans Style of Jazz", Sidney Bechet; the beautiful and incomparable dancer, and performer, Josephine Baker; the writer of "Black Boy", and defender of African American Culture and its struggles in America, Richard Wright; their are several others, singers, doctors, specialists of sculpture, Civil Rights Leaders, poets, playwrights, stage and theater actors. All this massive talents of African America took refuge in Paris, fleeing oppression, slavery, murder, and segregation. Dr. Carter is helping all of the students on this Paris trip, understand and appreciate the honorable contributions of these pioneers of African American Culture and by extension the whole entire African World. After a 15 hour plane ride from Tucson, AZ, via Dallas, TX, I landed in the historical airport of Charles DeGaulle. It goes without saying, that DeGaulle is the aristocratic general, leader, and a statesman who saved the honor of France, by standing up to Nazi Germany during the occupation of his country in WWII. It's a reminder of this contribution to his beloved France, that every single visitor coming via and to Paris, transit through an airport bearing his name. Paris is one of the oldest inhabited great cities in the history of the whole world, and it has continuously played a leading role in the affairs of the world in good and bad times all throughout this history. At times, the political leaders of the French, residing in Paris, the French Capital managed this responsibility with flying colors, at other times, they failed at it miserably! In that spirit, Dr. Carter, the fearless teacher, took us on a historical walk-through inside and around the great capital, passing while paying our respects to the historical figures of the French people, and the monuments built to honor their sacred memory: The statue of Charlemagne; La Cathedrale De Notre Dame; Le Louvre; L'avenue Des Champs Elysees; L'Arc De Triomphe; La Bastille; La Rive Gauche et La Rive Droite; Montparnasse; Montmartre; Rue Des Ecoles, La Place St. Michel; La Tour Eiffel; Le Jardin de la Tuilleries; and La Sorbonne. My father was a student here during the 1930s, when France controlled French West Africa. I came back as an American, with an American Professor, and an ex-combat arms soldier. After having being born in Guinea, which was formerly part of French west Africa. What a strange world! I would even go as far as to say with a saying from my native Africa, which states? "The more we live and continue to live, the more we find ourselves walking through the steps of the ancestors, repeating the same trials and tribulations as them, albeit, differently, but ultimately all the same!"
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