Pap Ndiaye, a Black French scholar and expert on the U.S. civil rights movement poses for a photo inside France's National Museum of the History of Immigration, in Paris, Thursday, March 11, 2021.
(AP Photo/Francois Mori)PARIS – A Black French scholar and expert on U.S. minority rights movements who's taking charge of France’s state-run immigration museum says it's “vital” for his country to confront its colonial past so that it can conquer present racial injustice.
AdFrom his new post at the immigration museum, Ndiaye hopes to contribute to opening up the debate needed so the French confront their collective memories.
The Palais de la Porte Doree, which houses the museum in the east of Paris, is in itself a strong testimony from France’s colonial era.
It will propose a new approach to the history of immigration to ensure that it is “not a footnote” in France’s history, Ndiaye said.