The Fight for Black Lives: An Inter-diasporic Conversation between French and U.S. Activists

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With Charlene Carruthers, Assa Traoré, head of the Truth for Adama committee. Moderated by Ashley Berry (French Studies, NYU) and Chayma Drira (French and French Studies, NYU).

Charlene A. Carruthers is a Black, queer feminist community organizer and writer with over 15 years of experience in racial justice, feminist and youth leadership development movement work. As the founding national director of BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100), she has worked alongside hundreds of young Black activists to build a national base of activist member-led organization of Black 18-35 year olds dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. She is author of Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements (Beacon Press).

Assa Traoré is an educator and social justice activist, co-founder and head of the truth for Adama committee, and the author of Lettre à Adama (Seuil, 2017). Since the death of her brother, Adama Traoré, on July 19, 2016, she has been fighting to establish the truth about the circumstances of his death at the hands of the French gendarmes, who arrested him in Beaumont-sur-Oise. In the wake of George Floyd’s killing in the U.S. and the large Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the U.S., the Truth for Adama committee organized the massive June 2nd Paris demonstration calling for Justice for Adama, justice for George Floyd, and justice for all.

Ashley Berry is an MA student at New York University’s Institute of French Studies. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin (2013-2017) where she studied French and Italian. She then went on to attend The University of Texas School of Law (2017-2020) and graduated with a Doctor of Jurisprudence. Throughout her academic career she developed a strong interest in advancing racial equity in higher education. At the Institute of French Studies, Ashley is interested in exploring colonial history, racial consciousness, and the Black diaspora in France. Upon completing her Masters in French Studies at New York University, Ashley will pursue a career in the field of public policy in order to work on educational equity issues.

Chayma Drira is a doctoral student in French and French Studies at NYU. She graduated from Sciences Po Paris, where she studied political theory. At the intersection of sociology, literature and philosophy, her doctoral research explores the memory of postcolonial immigration in France. She has worked as a journalist for French magazines Bondy Blog, Jeune Afrique, Libération, Politis, OpenDemocracy and Orient XXI. She has published several articles comparing racial and social inequalities in the low-income neighborhoods of Chicago and Greater Paris.

Sponsored by the Institute of French Studies