The emergence of WWI and the subsequent rise of jazz in France laid the foundations for bustling African community, and opened doors for black performers, writers, and artists.
When the French territory was transferred to America, many free black Americans moved to France to escape the apartheid state.
One member, Sergeant Henry Johnson, was the first American Soldier to be awarded the Croix de guerre with palm by the French Army.
African-American musicians, artists and writer (many associated with the Harlem Renaissance) found 1920s Paris ready to embrace them with open arms.
Montmartre became the center of the small community, with jazz clubs such as Le Grand Duc, Chez Florence, and Bricktop's thriving in Paris.
[5] The Nazi German invasion of Paris in June 1940 led to the suppression of the "corrupt" influence of jazz in the French capital and the danger of imprisonment for African Americans choosing to remain in the city.
His song "Niggas in Paris" featuring Jay-Z, was inspired by his time in France and later used in a campaign commercial by the former French president, François Hollande.
The Algerian War also had a significant impact on French African-American culture, largely because it changed people's perspectives on the "colorblindness" of France.
French universalism and a historical fascination with black American culture have made them into what Tyler Stovall calls a "model minority."