Le « racisme » n’est avancé que pour diviser et détruire. Assa Traoré, soeur d’Adama Traoré, lors d’une manifestation le 20 juin 2020, à Paris, en France. “Your faces have been seen all over the world!”. Assa Traoré, sister Adama Traoré, leading the march marking the fourth anniversary of her brother’s death, Saturday July 18. Tout ce que je sais c'est que c'est mon petit frère. Protesters in recent weeks have included more white people and people from upper-class areas of Paris, Ms. Traoré said, as compared with the first demonstrations for Adama, back in 2016, which were mainly attended by people of color. This article is part of TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year issue. Assa Traoré sentenced for breach of the presumption of innocence Life/Entertain 2020-12-11T17:48:15.983Z Assa Traoré "proud" to be named "Guardian of the Year" by "Time" Author Gallia Daily - Voice of France In December 2020, the American newspaper Time made Assa Traoré, a Malian living in France, the spokesperson and symbol of the global anti-racist struggle. “France has not come to terms with its history, with slavery, with colonization,” she said. Pas Adama Traoré, pas mon petit frère et le combat on va le mener. Je garde tout. Subscribe for just 99¢. Assa Traoré désignée dans la catégorie des "gardiens de l'année" 2020 par le Time magazine. But who’s fighting, who’s defending our men?”. PHOTO / REUTEURS / Gonzalo Fuentes. Digital Traoré, whose brother died in police custody in 2016, is one of TIME’s 2020 Guardians of the Year Assa Traoré is pushing for legal redress after her brother Adama died in police custody in 2016. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing in the United States, which triggered a wave of anger that spanned the world, Ms. Traoré and her group have organized some of the biggest anti-racism protests in Europe. Until just a few weeks ago, Ms. Traoré, 35, a special-education teacher of Malian descent, was largely known as the spokeswoman for The Truth for Adama, an advocacy group that has demanded justice for her half brother, Adama Traoré, who died in police custody in 2016 on his 24th birthday. Assa Traoré is the sister of Adama Traoré, who died in 2016 while in police custody. Her campaign has “a power that [politicians] don’t have,” she says. Assa Traoré fait partie des “gardiens de l’année” de “Time”. All Rights Reserved. But, she added, “If there hadn’t been this big organizational effort before, George Floyd’s death wouldn’t have made any difference.”. Adama, her half brother, died in the courtyard of a police station on July 19, 2016, in circumstances that are still in dispute. Ms. Traoré holding a poster of her brother during a march commemorating the anniversary of his death, in Beaumont-sur-Oise, northeast of Paris, in 2017. Two of her great-grandfathers fought alongside French troops during World War II, when Mali was still a French colony, and her father, Mara-Siré Traoré, emigrated from Mali to France at age 17. La militante antiraciste fait partie des personnalités mises à l’honneur par le … Ms. Traoré’s words have struck a chord among the younger generation, who have flocked to the protests. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Born in Paris in 1985, Ms. Traoré draws on a family history in both France and Mali. “You are powerful!” she shouted, to the cheers of thousands who had gathered on the Place de la République in central Paris to protest police violence and racism. Assa Traoré had long demanded justice for her half brother, Adama, who died in police custody. France has struggled to confront racism for years. “If those men had been more visible, perhaps my brother wouldn’t be dead today,” she added. After years of campaigning for justice in her brother’s death, Traoré says she believes there is now a far broader movement over police violence. It has also put her at odds with the French authorities. As the eldest child still at home, she took over the reins of the family, filling in for her mother, Hatouma, who did not speak fluent French, while continuing her studies to become a special-education teacher. Without justice, you will never have peace.” She wears it almost daily. Pourquoi je sais pas? “It’s a small victory. By all accounts, Ms. Traoré is a charismatic figure, easily identifiable as she rouses the crowd in her black T-shirt bearing the words “Justice for Adama. Ms. Traoré’s activism has infuriated French right-wing news media, which accuse her of trying to tear French society apart by pitting Black and white communities against each other. BAALA rend hommage aux mères, aux sœurs, toutes les femmes fortes, à travers celle qui est devenue malgré elle une personnalité remarquée et remarquable. “She took on an almost motherly role with my brothers and sisters,” said Lassana Traoré, 43, one of her oldest half brothers, who saw this experience as the foundation of her leadership today. Magazines, police officers beating a Black music producer, How Assa Traoré Became the Face of France's Movement for Racial Justice. Her father married four women — two white Catholics whom he divorced and then two Malian Muslims with whom he lived at the same time, as permitted by Islamic law, despite the ban on polygamy in France. Subscribe for just 99¢. “She’s clear, and that makes her strong,” said Djenaba Dramé, a 21-year-old Black student at the demonstration on the Place de la République. Assa Traoré es una activista antirracista francesa. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please try again later. On a tué mon petit frère et j'ai dit que la mort de mon frère ne resterait pas un fait divers. By signing up you are agreeing to our, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. Assa Traoré, in pink, in a family photograph. You have 3 free articles left. “I always try to convince her to do that,” says Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, a left-wing academic who co-authored a book with her last year on Adama and police tactics. Assa Traoré and the Adama Committee have likened their struggle to the Immigration and Suburbs Movement (MIB), a grassroots anti-racist organization founded in 1995 that has waned in recent years. Traoré says Adama’s death shattered their Malian-French family, especially the 16 surviving siblings. With the help of seasoned anti-racist, left-wing activists, Ms. Traoré has worked to turn her advocacy group into a movement, keeping politicians at bay and relying mostly on social networks that keep her phone buzzing all the time. Thank you for reading TIME. France, which colonized parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, has failed to fully integrate immigrants from its former empire. She recently filed a libel suit against the Paris police chief and declined an invitation by the former justice minister, Nicole Belloubet, for a meeting, arguing that “justice should not be done in a tearoom at the Élysée Palace.”, “A confrontation has been established,” Ms. Traoré said. “We did not even have time to cry. Photograph by Kenny Germé—Total Management. The Paris suburbs exploded in riots in 2005, driven by resentment among North African immigrants over their treatment by the police and discrimination in general, exposing the rest of France to the country’s racial fissures. Mr. Traoré reportedly said that he could not breathe and likely passed out during his transfer to the police station in Persan, a small town north of Paris, where he was pronounced dead two hours later. “People now understand how my brother died,” she said. “The Adama generation is on the street to speak out against police brutality, racial discrimination.”. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. © 2021 TIME USA, LLC. On Nov. 26, France’s interior minister ordered the officers suspended. Her younger brother Adama also died in police custody, in 2016, reportedly uttering those same dying words. French police rejected that conclusion, but the campaign to determine the truth continues. 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