Rokhaya Diallo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rokhaya Diallo
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Diallo in 2017
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| Born | 10 April 1978 4th arrondissement of Paris, France
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| Occupation | Journalist, activist, film-maker |
Rokhaya Diallo (born April 10, 1978) is a French journalist, author, filmmaker, and activist. She works to make things fair for everyone, no matter their race, gender, or religion. The New York Times has called her "one of France's most prominent anti-racism activists." She hosts shows on BET-France and has made many documentaries, TV shows, and radio programs. She has written books like Racism: a guide and How to talk to kids about racism. She also created a graphic novel called Pari(s) d'Amies and a book called Afro! about people in Paris who wear natural hairstyles.
Contents
About Rokhaya Diallo
Early Life and Education
Rokhaya Diallo was born in 1978 in Paris, France. Her parents came from Senegal and The Gambia. Her father was a mechanic, and her mother taught sewing. In 1989, her family moved to La Courneuve, a suburb near Paris.
Rokhaya studied International and European law. Then she studied business and worked briefly at IBM. She left IBM because she felt like "a pawn," meaning she didn't feel important or that her work mattered much. She then earned a degree in marketing and distribution in 2003. Now, she works in broadcasting, which means making TV and radio shows.
Rokhaya is a big fan of anime (Japanese animation). She even helped start the Japan Expo, a huge event for fans of Japanese pop culture. She also did some voice acting when she was younger.
Working for Change
In 2001, Rokhaya joined a youth program in La Courneuve. She became president of the city's Youth Council within two years. She is a feminist, which means she supports equal rights for women. She works with the group Mix-Cité to fight against sexism. She also works with ATTAC, an organization that wants fair global policies for everyone.
In 2020, she started writing for The Washington Post, a major newspaper in the United States. In 2021, she became a researcher at Georgetown University in Washington. She also teaches cultural studies at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in France.
Fighting for Equality
The Indivisibles
In 2006, Rokhaya Diallo started an organization called The Indivisibles. She heard that many people thought being Black and from a working-class background was a problem. She felt that people often judged her based on stereotypes. She said, "When we were young, my brother and I had never asked ourselves, 'Where do we come from?', until we were asked by others." She wanted to stop people from judging others based on their looks or where they came from.
The Indivisibles works to make sure everyone in France is treated equally, no matter their appearance or origin. In 2009, they started the "Y'a bon Awards." These awards pointed out the most outrageous racist comments made by French public figures. This helped bring attention to their cause.
Rokhaya became a regular voice on radio and TV. In 2011, she published her book Racism: a guide. She believes that people's attitudes need to change, especially in the media. She says that news stories should not focus only on a person's skin color or origin.
She also speaks out against Islamophobia, which is unfair treatment or fear of Muslim people. She points out that people often talk about "secular education" only when discussing Islam. She feels this wrongly suggests that Islam is only practiced by violent people.
Media Work
Rokhaya Diallo has worked a lot in the media to share her messages.
Press
She has written for many newspapers and magazines. She reported on women in Bahrain and racism in Tunisia for Les Inrocks. She also covered the Black Lives Matter movement for Libération. Her articles have appeared in international newspapers like The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera.
Radio
Since 2009, she has been a regular guest on RTL radio. Since 2011, she has hosted Fresh Cultures on Mouv' radio. In 2018, she started a podcast called Kiffe ta race with Grace Ly.
Television
From 2009 to 2013, she was a commentator on La Matinale on Canal+. She also hosted and co-directed a show called Egaux mais pas trop ("Equals but not too much") on LCP. This show talked about equality.
From 2014 to 2015, she hosted a series of shows on Mediapart called Alter-égaux. These shows focused on issues of inequality, racism, and discrimination.
In 2017, she joined the popular TV show "Touche pas à mon poste!" on C8. She explained that she wanted to reach a wider audience, especially people who are not usually "pampered by the media." She stayed on the show for one season.
Since 2016, she has also hosted the BET Buzz program on Black Entertainment Television (BET) with Raphäl Yem. This show focuses on "black culture" in France. Since 2018, she has appeared weekly on the "24H Pujadas" program on LCI, discussing current events.
Her Beliefs
Anti-racism
Rokhaya Diallo believes in fighting for fairness for all races and ethnic groups. She especially focuses on non-white French citizens, whose French identity is often questioned. She is part of the Center for Intersectional Justice, an organization that works to fix different kinds of discrimination.
In 2014, she made a documentary called Networks of Hate. It explored hate speech and freedom of speech online.
Fighting Anti-Black Racism
Rokhaya has worked to highlight issues faced by Black people.
- In 2011, she attended a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus in the United States. This group represents Black members of the U.S. Congress.
- She appeared on the cover of Respect Mag magazine with other famous people, in an issue titled "100% French & Black."
- In 2012, after an article in Elle magazine was seen as racist, she and others wrote an opinion piece in Le Monde. They questioned why the magazine rarely featured Black women on its covers.
Gay Rights
In 2012, she joined a protest supporting the right of gay couples to marry. She noticed that not many Black people were at the protest.
Under-representation of Black Women
Rokhaya Diallo has often spoken about how Black women are not shown enough in women's magazines. She believes this is a problem and pushes for more diverse representation.
Decolonial Summer Camp
Rokhaya Diallo supports summer camps where some meetings are "open only to 'racialized' people." These are people who feel they are treated unfairly because of their background. She explains that these spaces allow people who have experienced racism to meet peacefully. She sees this as a way to protect themselves from what she calls "State racism." She says these meetings are not meant to create a segregated society, but to offer a safe space for a short time.
Afro-feminism
Rokhaya Diallo describes herself as an "intersectional and decolonial feminist." This means she believes that different types of unfair treatment (like sexism, racism, and classism) can overlap. She also believes that traditional feminism often focuses too much on white, middle-class women and doesn't always address the specific problems faced by women of color or Muslim women.
She argues that it's important to support all women, including those who wear a veil. She says that if women are victims of sexism by veiling themselves, they should not be punished for it.
Awards and Recognition
- 2012: Won the Prize for Combating Racism and Discrimination from COJEP, an international group working for human rights.
- 2013: Listed by Slate as one of the 100 most influential French women.
- 2014: Won the #LabComWomen prize for "Generosity" from TF1 and LABCOM, recognizing women in the digital world.
- 2015: Her documentary Steps to Liberty won Best Documentary Film at a festival in Guadeloupe.
- 2016: Received a "Journalist of the Year" award at the European Diversity Awards in London.
- 2017: Was the only French guest at the opening of the Obama Foundation in Chicago.
Filmography
- 2013: Steps to liberty (documentary for France Ô)
- 2014: Les Réseaux de la haine (Networks of Hate) (documentary for LCP/AN and France 3 – IDF)
- 2014–2015: Brothers in arms (television series)
- 2016: From Paris to Ferguson : guilty of being black (documentary for France Ô)
- 2016: USA : the Caribbean recipe for success
- 2020: Où sont les Noirs ? (Where are the Black people?) (documentary)
- 2021: La Parisienne démystifiée (The Parisian Demystified) (documentary)
- 2021: Bootyful (documentary)
See also
In Spanish: Rokhaya Diallo para niños
