Photographer Carolina Arantes, the winner the Firecracker photographic grant in 2017, documents the daily life of French women of African heritage in their search for a solid mixed identity in the country, through her long-term First Génération project
after the country’s 1976 law of family reunification is a generation struggling for its place between the feeling of not belonging and its geographical origins. This is a documentary work formed by interviews, family archives and portraits of women conscious of their struggle in the country.The next generation will have an easier path, as their French-born parents will have knowledge of French bureaucracy and the way of living.Gladys Kenfack, 41, is a business export sales manager.
“I think that it really blew up in my face when I became an elected representative, especially with the violence of social networks. That’s when I was brought back to my image as a black woman, with several people insulting me. I have the feeling that I was actually blamed for having responsibilities. That was the first time I really felt singled out because I was black. I said to myself: ‘Well, that’s it. In fact, what people see is first and foremost a black woman.
“[Women who move to France] only know their husbands but they have to learn to live here, with all the French culture, and adapt to the language, the climate, the system, how it works, with healthcare and all the paperwork. Then how to educate a child in France. For example, when they have children who go to school. In Africa they had school but it was not the same. In France, every morning at such and such a time you have to be there. For women who can’t even tell the time, it’s not obvious.
Left: an archive image in Coumba Doucouré’s school photo album from 1992. Right: an end-of-year photo from the album.
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