Although it was their honeymoon that originally took Tarani and Josiah to Paris, the love for the city and their burgeoning careers brought them back. While Josiah has built his career as a successful musician, Tarani has pursued her career in education, finishing her PhD requirements and writing and translating for a local university. Both are passionate about race relations in France and have become directly involved in the Black Lives Matter movement and ongoing dialogue around international social justice issues.

What brought you there?

Tarani: I’ll go back a bit further and talk about the surprise honeymoon that Josiah planned for us in 2010. While strolling around, we kept making broad statements about living here for a year or two, declaring what neighborhood we’d live in, etc. About 8 months later…

Josiah: In the spring of 2011 [Tarani] received an email on a listserv about a research position at the Rouen Business School in Rouen, France. The listing said that one could live in Paris and work at the school via commute (I didn’t want to go at first but encouraged her to apply). She applied for the job and got it! So we moved in August of 2011 and celebrated our first anniversary in France. When we finally moved to our first apartment in Paris, we realized it was the same neighborhood where we stayed during our honeymoon! 

What you’ve been up to while there?

Josiah: Tarani worked for the business school in Rouen for her two year contract and then (because neither one of us were ready to leave – especially, me – since my musical career was also growing here) she started doing research, copy editing and translating for the University of Paris-Dauphine as well as completing her PhD requirements. I have been touring around Europe, the States, and Africa with several different bands as well as playing concerts here in town and doing recording projects including recording my debut album which should be out some time this year.

Has your time in Paris changed you in any way?

Josiah: The number one change for both of us has been becoming bi-lingual. I’ve read a couple of different articles that posit that, in each new language, one develops a slightly alternate personality and I’ve been mindful of that as my competency progresses. The other change is less of a change and more of an added perspective underlying truths that we already knew prior to moving. The distance between here and the states in terms of news/information has given us the reprieve of not being so directly underneath American brand Racism/Violence, such that it is easier to breathe enough to be able to see certain things. For example, it is painfully obvious to me now how oppressively brainwashing and seemingly omniscient the news media is… From here you can see how the tv news basically leads everyone around by the nose. For example, on social media we’ll see explosions of certain topics that seem like they were sparked by the most inane and and asinine of questions. But we’ll see everyone responding to it with righteous fervor and slapping it down. From here it’s almost as if a 6th grader posed a question or said something baseless and a bunch of grown scholars use their considerable expertise and a great deal of energy to respond to the assertions of the child… This is most readily felt when given topics of race, racism, equality, or social justice. (i.e. some of the things that republicans have said about Women’s reproductive issues sound like a 10 year old came up with them. YET, because of the power of the media in legitimizing and broadcasting literally ANYthing… factual, conscientious, and powerful responses are then proffered which, if one were to compare them to the intellectual value of the original statement, would seem like gross overkill… but #Media).

 Tarani: I agree. I’m generally seen as American first, and that has come with a whole host of privileges (also because of France’s near fetishism with Black American art, music, and life in general, this plus the fact that we lived in New York gives us instant “oh la la’s”). Even so, we are immigrants and have had visa/residency issues since we got here. And the experience of dealing with that bureaucracy makes living here a lot different from visiting. But, since we are American, we’re more than likely viewed as expats. I’m sure that if my passport was Cameroonian – and even if I spoke perfect French – the experience would be a lot different. And I’m particularly interested in how France frames American racism (in an attempt to absolve themselves of on going French racism) and have written a chapter (recently accepted for publication!) comparing the two cultural contexts with regard to approaches to diversity. Overall, I think that we’re living a hindsight experience, it’s hard to see exactly how I’m being changed, but I think once (if) we move back, this will be something to look back upon and appreciate.

 Any future travel plans?

Josiah: In terms of just travel, I plan on riding these waves of tours that are being offered. I will most likely be going back to Africa (last year, I was in Morocco, Botswana, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Burkina Faso), to North America (the states, Canada, and perhaps the Caribbean), and more around France and greater Europe for music. Together, we mostly go back to the states a few times a year to visit family and celebrate milestones and family moments.

Tarani: I travel a bit for conferences and to see friends and sometimes I tag along to various jazz festivals and as Josiah’s career grows, I may be on the road a bit more often with him!