I don’t look down on Baldwin or Simone for their move, I don’t think they were accurate in their assertion that the French were less racist the the Whites in the US, they just manifested their Racism that was unfamiliar or more palatable for Black artist coming from the US. The French have a history of colonization, oppression, genocide, and racism that runs as deep as all the other imperial White nations. But I think Baldwin understood this better than Simone.
I don’t think leaving the US alone is a sign of anything; it’s all about one’s motivations and what they do when they arrive in their new locations. If you were not down with the struggle before you left, then most likely you ain’t about to get down in your new location; but I’ve found historically and even now, people who were engaged in the struggle before leaving the US most often continue their efforts wherever they land. So moving alone is not a sign of anything but moving.
