Edited by Azizi Powell
Update: November 17, 2019
This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video entitled "Black in Paris - It's Different than Being Black in the States."
This post also presents excerpts from that discussion about the custom of Black people nodding at Black strangers.
This pancocojams post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about the custom of Black people nodding at other Black people who are strangers. This custom is often referred to as "the nod" or "the Black nod".
Click the tag "video, articles, and comments about "the nod" to find other pancocojams posts about this subject.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to those who are featured on this YouTube video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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Black in Paris - It's Different than Being Black in the States
Roman Around The World, Apr 19, 2018
Paris is a diverse city. But what's it like to be Black in Paris? Black travel here in France is a bit different than other countries. And that means no head nod here...
-snip-
Here are selected comments from that discussion, including two comments that I added to that discussion, (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Volcy Thoughts, 2018
"Y’all don’t do the black person head nod in France? Ah man..."
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2. Jordan H, 2018
"SirVolcy No communautarism in France, sorry :)"
-snip-
Here's a French definition of communautarism:
"le communautarisme est un terme socio-politique désignant les attitudes ou les aspirations au sein de minorités et moins couramment au sein de majorités (culturelles, religieuses, ethniques...) visant à se différencier volontairement, pour s'entraider, voire pour se dissocier du reste de la société"
-snip-
Google translate to English:
"communitarianism is a socio-political term designating attitudes or aspirations within minorities and less commonly within majorities (cultural, religious, ethnic ...) aiming to differentiate voluntarily, to help one another or even to dissociate themselves from the rest of society"
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3. "Alia Guerin, 2019
"No its not done, only if you know somebody i wont do it to anybody .. I can say bonjour goodmorning if you like .. but that i do because its considered being polite not because you are black."
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4. francesca, 2019
"It depends on where you live. Like if you live in big cities like Paris, Marseille, etc, you won't get a lot of head nod but if you living in cities (Grigny, Clichy,..) where there is a lot of minorities, then you'll get more head nod. Since we coming from the same backround and stuff you know.. We understand, help and support each other more."
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5. Lunatic Blues, 2019
"We actually do it when we are in room filled with white people.
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6. 9 Lives And Counting, 2019
"Why would you walk around bobbing your head at utter strangers all day? Not a thing in UK either. None of my friends do it."
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7. emma, 2019
"don't do it in the usa either....in fact doing so in NY might trigger a serious beatdown."
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8. Frankeya Atkinson, 2019
"9 Lives And Counting it’s a brief acknowledgement of a shared experience."
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9. Fadzai Chengeta, 2019
"Stereotypes aren’t good man not every black person does"
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10. Chesterfield, 2019
"Actually, it feels weird doing so. For example, when you visit a French village, where there are almost no minorities and you see another black fella, sure you'll notice each other, but it would feel communautarian and awkward to directly go to that person, or even nod at them, especially around other people.
But again, there are different cultures within the same community in the same country. Minorites coming from cities where there is a lot of immigrant descendants will naturally go to their own folk, and even be proud of it. It happened to me when I went to University, where most people were whites. Most of my friends were from minorites because we 'naturally' stuck together"
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11. Azizi Powell, 2019
"@francesca • I'm an arm chair traveler African American who some how happened upon this video. The only international nation I've been to is Canada. I find it and this discussion very interesting. For clarification, did you mean "but if you living in cities (Grigny, Clichy,..) where there aren't a lot of minorities, then you'll get more head nod." ?- Meaning the brief physical acknowledgement of someone else being Black happens more in smaller cities than larger cities where it is more common to see other Black people?"
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12. Azizi Powell, 2019
"And just for the record, as a 71 year old African American, I've noticed that the custom of Black strangers in the USA briefly nodding at other Black people when we pass each other on the street has lessened considerably since at least the 1980s or so, and is hardly done at all now in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, particularly with Black folks under the age of 40. I think that custom changed when gang activity in Pittsburgh got to be really bad. During that time younger Black people in Black poor & working class neighborhoods in Pittsburgh & surrounding areas identified with the neighborhood they lived in and didn't think that they could get support from other Black people just because they were Black (which is what I think the "nod" meant- that we're all in the same boat because of our race and if there was trouble and/or you needed support, then you could turn to someone else who was Black.) While the gang activity appears to have gotten better, I think that way of identifying yourself based on your neighborhood and not just your race (or city) still occurs in this city anyway.
Personally, I miss that custom of physically acknowledging Black strangers. And I still nod at other Black people I see, especially Black people over 40 or so. I believe that sub-set of Black people are (or were) used to that custom, particularly when we are "the only ones" in malls or in other mostly White frequented places which happens quite often in Pittsburgh since that city is only 20% Black and the county is only 12% Black."
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13. maeva tbze, 2019
"😂😂 you can, we'll understand why you do this if you ever come here! I do it sometimes but most of the time it's more subtle.. we just make eye contact and like we know haha! I have friends with many different origins (white or non-white) but the majority of my best friends have always been black tho... i think from the point of view of any non-white person in France it's hard to say that France is really colorblind... in theory yes the République, but not in real life. And i had this conversation with some of my white classmates and some think there is almost no racism in France bc of this message of equality, and that we have the same life, which is very problematic and they were shocked when i told them that i have encountered racism (especially because I'm a middle-class well-educated black (mixed) woman)... but for me being born and raised in France has been mostly a positive experience"
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14. Tara Young, 2018
"Just got back from France. I only got the "head nod" from other Black Americans. So glad I saw this before I left cuz I got no head nod from other Blacks/Africans. It was good to understand why."
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15. ArmandoJaune, 2018
"Black and French, it happens, just not in big cities."
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16. Sebastien Fuger, 2018
"Lol you've never been to France."
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17. ArmandoJaune, 2018
"@Solemn Package Haha jsuis français donc me dis pas que je suis jamais aller en France, de quoi tu parles?"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English
"I'm French so do not tell me I'm never going to France, what are you talking about?"
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18. Sebastien Fuger, 2018
"@ArmandoJaune bah alors tu sors pas assez mon gars!"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English
@ArmandoJaune bah then you do not go out enough my guy!
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19. AdelSd, 2019
"It might appear weird, but from my perspective (French man from Syrian origin) I find it really strange to nod to people just because they share the same "ethnicity" than yours. Imagine, if white people were doing the same, they'd just be called racists (in the way that they don't behave the same toward people of their ethnicity compared to others). Even more when applied to American society, where people from African descent are absolutely not coming from the same country nor share the same heritage. To follow up on my analogy with white people, that'd be the same as having a white Afrikaaner and a Swedish nodding to each other on the street on the simple fact that they are white. Obviously, it comes from the fact that I have a different cultural point of view than US people, due to the fact that I'm French, but that's tough for me to really understand and justify."
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20. emma, 2019
"And it's not like the "head nod" is frequently done in the usa....In some cities like NY, Chicago just to name a few doing so might start a fight, especially if it's between two guys, sooooooo....."
16. Ron Mosely, 2019
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21. Ron Mosely, 2019
"The French speakers dont do that ! But Black folks in the UK do that! Black folks relate in London, give you that hey brother , look , but in Quebec and As she says in Paris , they dont give a phuq ~ London has every English speaking nation in Africa and the Carribbean, but dont get into that "where you from" crap! But even at the airport, Black folks will relate! ..She mentions , NYC, no one throws shade at interracial couples, and the opposite is true regarding French speaking African immigrants as compared to English speaking immigrants ! the Senegalese, Cote D;'Ivoire, Gambians, will treat you like family, but the Nigerians and Ghanians will relate , just to be civil or polite ! Black people have been in France for over 1200 years, so now a Black person does not have to have someone White on their arm to make , them fit in or be more French!"
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22. elena 240, 2019
"I can't stand it when Black People don't speak"
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23. thedarkestcloud, 2019
"This is kind of hilarious that you would acknowledge another person of color in France... Especially in Paris you'd be waving every 5 seconds... imagine waving at every black person in Brooklyn... nonsense, Paris is not Warsaw, it is diverse,and no interracial dating in France is not a way to "solidify your frenchness", it is just two people falling in love and being attracted to each other, there too, Paris is not California, black people don't date ethnic French people to go up in society's hierarchy"
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