I will forever wonder why he chose france. France is no better than here. probably worse if you consider how they treat their black people and the multicentury fckery they pulled with Haiti.
I mean for godsake, france engaged in a colonial, racist , clusterfck war with Africa less than 2 years after Baldwin moved to Paris.
For someone of his intelligence and level of racial consciousness, i would have pegged him for a return to Africa kinda guy. That same anger should be felt in Europe. So his message is somewhat hollow. Its as though Baldwin blindfolded himself right after leaving the arrivals terminal at Charles DeGaul Airport.
Post war Europe and post-war USA would have been markedly different.
France had former slave colonies, and (then) current colonial territories,
but the history and interactions between the races played out differently there, than in France itself.
Europe didnt see significant numbers of Black people until people from their colonies were recruited to help rebuild the countries aftet WW2.
The US was one of former slave colonies of Europe, and the systems of slavery and jim crow had shaped the way society operated .Including the long history of racist laws and policies against the formerly enslaved.
Black Ex-pats were seeking a reprieve from the brutal oppressive systems here, and relatively speaking some of them found it in France. Some found it in Russia.
Also France would have an appeal to artists, as it has been one of centers for the arts for centuries .