France on Tuesday observed the National Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade, Slavery and their Abolition. Paris was among the first countries to declare slavery a “crime against humanity”. Around the world some artists are choosing to honour black history as a way of breaking the shackles of their past.
African American photographer James C. Lewis is one of a number artists who have declared their love of black skin.
His photo series in Paris “Icons of the Bible” and “African Kings” places people of colour into the Bible and history, to break with what he belives is the mental slavery of Western-imposed ideals of beauty.
RFI’s Christina Okello went to meet the artist whose work is reigniting the debate on race and skin colour.
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