On a hot summer day on Aug 28th, 1963, there stands a man in the center of the crowd of 250,000 Americans who are fed up with unemployment and racial and social injustice. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. stepped onto the stand of the Lincoln Memorial and gave the historically most extraordinary improvisation ‘I have a dream’ speech at The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Twenty years later, somewhere 3800 miles away in France. A group of young ‘Marchers’ who followed similar footsteps of great minds before them on a cold winter day on December 3rd, 1983. The ‘Marchers’, who are mostly sons and daughters of Algerian immigrants, marched across Marseille to Paris. In its triumphant arrival with over 100,000 demonstrators from different social and economic backgrounds, the Marchers at The March for Equality and Against Racism shared the collective sentiment — seek equality for second-generation immigrants here in France. The civil rights movement (CRM) in the United States inspired the 1980s French student activism. The correlation between the French student activism in the 1980s and the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s is the interweaving of race and religion comes into play for both France and America.
One biggest commonality that both France and America shared is their longstanding immigration historical background. Both are recognized as the melting pot of immigration from their historical background of slavery and colonialization. The inequality in education and environment inhibits certain immigrants from escaping poverty and the cycle of unemployment. Many immigrant families, mostly from historical French colonies in North Africa, have experienced prejudice in social, health, and school system while growing up. Like MLK’s ‘I have a dream’ he talked about segregation, and this is the same issue occurring in the French society during the 1980s. The French immigrants request equal treatment in housing, job, education, healthcare, and fundamental rights. MLK’s speech resonates with what is happening during the decolonization period in french society, the same sentiment goes for French people when MLK mentioned in his speech “One hundred years later, the Negros live on a lonely island of poverty amid a vast ocean of material prosperity…still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his land ” (MLK, 1963). American society 100 years after the abolition of slavery is still struggling to integrate fully. On the same note, French society 30 years after the decolonization encounters the same issue. I struggled to find sources of spokesperson during March (1983) that could compare with MLK. At first, I was very confused about why and spend more time searching from google scholar to libraries. Most of the references I found are only interviews of students sharing their sentiments when they march into Paris. For example, many say that this is their version of May’s 68, or one of the students Said Bouamama who marched from Roubaix said “I still remember clearly the amazing energy, and that certainly that we were living through a historical event” (Beaud, Masclet, 2006). Then, I found my answer in one of the issues released from Annales.Histoire, Sciences Sociales in 2006. There are three main reasons. March for equality and against racism began in the district of Minguettes in Vénissieux where the suburban district merely is the center for social affairs; additionally, the lack of a public figure beside the priest Father Delorme as a spokesperson, even with him, the lack of script coverage through the internet was a major issue notwithstanding the language barrier in doing English search for french studies. Lastly, the founder of the march is a young activist composed of high school and college students. The marchers, or as we called it the “Beurs”, are three boys from Minguettes, an Algerian girl from Annonay, and four French youth. The Beurs is recognized and received at the Élysée by the president François Mitterrand. Instead of moving speeches, it was more of negotiation for rights like a ten-year permit of residency which did not include the script of their sentiments or suffrage in inequality from a more primary source aspect. However, I was able to find some sources such as newspapers during 1979–1985 Sans frontière which fought for “self-sustaining mobilization of ‘young immigrants’ for equality at work, at school, and in the legal system” (Beaud, Masclet, 2006). This is very similar to the appeals in MLK’s speech. Unfortunately, instead of being romanticized and praised like the Americans, these voices in the 1970s are politicized and radicalized with association with police brutality, housing projects, and ghetto gangsters images. In both MLK’s speech and the ‘Beurs’ we can observe similar patterns in the racial discrimination spiraling down into activism, and appealing for equality in professional development, living environment, education & health system, and legal system.
When student marches from Lyon to Paris, the topic of police brutality never leaves the center of the spotlight. This has impacted how peaceful protest in March is politicized in the media and public eye. Before the discussions on the racist murders and police oppression shaping the marcher’s attitude, we have to understand their political background. These marchers, second-generation immigrants growing up in the post-1968 environment, is mostly left-wing liberals who identify the lack of a sound social system for North African immigrant. In May 1981, when Francois Mitterrand became the president, he was the first socialist president of the Fifth Republic. This has given many second-generation immigrants big hopes that old policies on immigration will be abolished and they would gain equality after all. However, the incident of local confrontation with police violent interference such as Toumi Djaïdja being injured by a police bullet has infuriated some more left extreme Beurs. This is similar to what is happening in America as well, the police brutality plays a big role in the racial oppression and polarizing the CRM. As part of MLK’s speech “We can never be satisfied, as long as the Negro is the victim o the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” (MLK, 1963). As New York Times reported on May 7th, 1963, a Birmingham Police brutality occurred when “A negro woman who resisted policeman’s attempt to force her off a sidewalk was wrestled to the pavement by five patrolmen, one of whom pinned her down with a knee in her neck.” (Waxman TIME, 2020) prove exactly what has been said in the speech. However, overly heated confrontations between the police and activists are detrimental to the image of protestors, which reduces their authoritative effectiveness of them when appealing for rights. This also brings on more potential obstacles for youth to continue their peaceful protest since one or two incidents of police brutality overly coverage the news might misrepresent the community, thus, disincentivizing the youth as well as their families to participate in CRM. Luckily, every coin has two sides, the police brutality also became the root cause for a significant factor collectively in America and France during civil rights activism — unifying disparate socioeconomic and racial backgrounds in protestors.
Without police brutality as the back force and trigger point, much of this activism will not occur; nor will it fuels as one major engine in uniting people across different racial and economic groups. For example, the Birmingham police brutality I mentioned in the previous paragraph, not only does this drew public concern but also became the ‘sparking point’ for more civil rights movements where “millions of people- North and South, black and white — felt the fangs of segregation and, at least in spirit, joined the protest movement” (Waxman TIME, 2020). The Birmingham rally proceeding with The March on Washington for Jobs is a common cycle where countless incidents of police brutality against Black Americans infuriate the public, then, protests and movements come along. The March for Equality and Against Racism was deeply rooted in second-generation immigrants’ insecurity with their living conditions but also racist crimes and difficult relationships with police. The police neglected and exacerbated their rights to the youth living in projects and areas of poverty in metropolitan cities. For example, at the housing projects on the outskirts of Lyon, as known as the ‘Les Minguettes’ neighborhood, a boy was bitten by a police dog. After the incident, Toumi Djaidja, a young 20-year-old French Muslim who enrolled in the French army during the Algerian War of Independence, confronted the police. During his altercation with police, he was injured by a shot fired by police for which he was hospitalized. This entire event infuriates the community. Not only the French Muslims who shared similar identities as these victims but also their friends and people who recognized the inequality of a Harki not being respected by the French policeman. The aftermath of the incident is what we know as the ‘marchers’ who took the advice of Father Delorme in its peaceful march into Paris. The marchers, or as we called them “Beurs”, started with three boys from Minguettes, an Algerian girl from Annonay, and four French youth. Something worth noticing is that the four French youth are the non-oppression group who supported and empathize with the situation. The demographic of the students fighting for oppression include non-oppress group joining in the protest. Despite the difference in economic conditions, the injustice and terrible police treatment bonded the young activists together for the demonstration of the civil rights movement.
The leaders in the 1960s civil rights movement in America are driven by African Americans in the United States whereas in the 1980s student activism groups are driven by Muslims such as Algerian immigrants in France. Activists who don’t fit into the cultural model are considered minorities. Minorities often are mischaracterized which makes seeking equality and activism harder for them. A Harvard University Press article ‘Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-Heritage Societies’ mentioned “Although religion is an unspoken value, religious homophily, or preference of individuals to associate with coreligionist, prevails in France” (Adida, Laitin, and Valfort, 2016). The practice of praying and Ramadan for French Muslims is not integrated into the French society, and often will be a hindrance for Muslims in professional pursuits. Ramadan is fasting during the day and such specific practice may lead to ‘withdrawal and indoctrination’ from the professional perspective. The lack of adjustments and accommodations for such religious practice may be a barrier for Muslims to appear professionally in French societies and also discourage the next generation to follow their root in religious practices. Despite the French “laïcité” as a social praxis of discretion in the public space, there is still unspoken discrimination against Muslims in work pursuit. This reflects on the March since the element of religion is woven with the race of French Muslims. Meanwhile living in a poverty and injustice system, the immigrants and their children’s discrimination in professional development continue to exist. An immigrant case study done by Catherine Delcroix helps gain insights into how French Muslim families experience professional prejudice against their children. “They will favor a relationship of domination aimed at assimilation into French cultural norms by Subjugation” (Delcroix, 2020, pg.11). The mentality of ‘assimilation into classical French culture’ makes it difficult for French Muslims to fight for their rights. Compared to the difference in America where cultural assimilation is a two-way process where the majority culture is changed while the minority is adapting its culture. The acculturation of minority culture changes but the ability to retain unique cultural markers of language, customs, and food is common in New York or major cities in America. However, acculturation in Paris is less customary. It is reflected in the product of the negotiation from the march where President François Mitterrand agreed on the ‘ten-year card’ which is senseless for some of the marchers who have already been born of French citizenship. There are no significant deals or changes made in acceptance of their religion or different cultural models in job opportunities. On a positive note, nonetheless, due to the ten-year-card and the demonstration of the march, shows how successful peaceful protest can be. It manifested the second generation of youth that are inspired by May 68.
The peaceful protest and campaigns in France, March of Beurs, greatly inspired by May 68 which is a reference to March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom has influenced generations of young advocates in numerous ways. It shows how spirits and ideas are in circulation across generations. There is numerous collective memory that the French shared in 1968 which continues to resonate in popular cultural and political vision to the present. “1968 in Europe, continues in this vein by providing next to the country studies a series of an investigation into transnational roots and movements of late sixties protest” (Scott-Smith, 2008). The ’68 and sixties empowered people to open up and delved into unexplored fresh perspectives in the transnational history and analysis and educate future generations on how it triggered a collective response. While delving into transnational history, religion, time and again, plays the role of the mediator bridging diverse identities together in humanity.
The resemblance of the priest in 1983 in France with the MLK working in the church shared a cohesive similarity amid racial oppression and fights for civil rights. Both Christian Delorme, one of the key initiators of the March for equality and against racism, and MLK are Christian. Both are not afraid to integrate their religious aspect into their speech and their belief when fighting for human rights. Especially in the French 1983 movement, Christian Delorme is considered as the Father that convinced young people in Minguettes working-class district to convey their beliefs through non-violent protest. Then, he continuously acts as a father/mentor figure for these young activists which gains him wide support and authority such as the direct delegation of walkers by President François Mitterrand. This has proven the thesis that religion plays a critical role in the perplexity in fighting for equality. The same thing in America, from Martin Luther King to Jesse Jackson, black clergies have played significant roles in pushing for American CRM. Therefore, the inseparable correlation between the church and the state in the social movement is vital to pushing forward peaceful movement. Religion can be a substantial force to rely on for support, conversely, religion can also be an indicator of “how alienating effects of economic deprivation, and entrapment within the projects and its associated stigma” (Stéphane & Olivier, 2005). It is the religion that stigmatizes minorities where they are restricted by French norms and cultural confinements. Many French Muslims live in a poverty cycle due to stigmas. Therefore, it is hard to separate the civil rights movement for equality from the identity of Muslims. For many Beurs in the March, religion can symbolically be an honor that French Muslims defend for their roots, and also a means to engage in politics where politicians oftentimes are not receptive.
The significance in which student activists influence the foundation of education and progress in changing societal issues is the rooted cause for many equality that is being shaped today. The example of May 68 in France is the perfect example of how student activism fundamentally changed the current French society. With the guidance and support from religion, it was able to unify individuals from all different social classes and cultural backgrounds. Observing and researching from an agnostic point of view, I learn a lot about the interworkings of religion in student activism in Western countries. From my personal experience when I participated in Sunflower Movement in 2014 back in Taiwan, I had very different but similar insights. It is similar in all student activisms share some sort of oppression towards powerful governments or systems, and we urge to transform the status quo through peaceful march. The difference, however, is that there are fewer religions involved in the student protest but different political groups. The 2014 Sunflower Movement in Taiwan is equivalent to the May 68 in France. It completely changes the dynamic in education and also the shared sentiment of all Taiwanese people, especially younger generations and middle-class Taiwanese. It is then reflected in the policies both externally and internally. The most direct evidence of the Sunflower Movement in 2014 changing society is reflected in the result of the presidential elections in 2016 and 2020. Both elections are won by presidential candidates that hold similar political values as the student leaders in the protest. Many student leaders back in the 2014 civil rights movement in Taiwan became politicians or members of the party that is in the office right now. Therefore, the American civil rights movement, French student activism, and even the Taiwanese student protests are vital to the future of a country. From the research, we understand the youth’s thread of thought and how it was initiated through the support of multiple forces including religion. No matter whether it is the 1960s, 1980s, or 2010s, the aftermath of these activisms has a long-term impact and fundamentally shapes modern society.
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