For centuries, the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade have shaped the cultural, political, and historical narratives of the Francophone Afro-Caribbean world. Yet, many of these histories remained unspoken, fragmented, or overshadowed. In an effort to uncover some of these silenced stories, Safoi Babana-Hampton, Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, has produced and directed a documentary that features artists, historians, and policymakers who challenge Eurocentric narratives to reclaim, reshape, and preserve the memory of the Black Atlantic experience.

Funded in part by the MSU Humanities and Arts Research Program Large-Scale Development Grant and bringing together a transnational team of media, cultural, and political personalities,the 119-minute documentary, “Chœurs Atlantiques | Tales from the Atlantic Beyond,” takes viewers on an immersive memory journey to three continents, beginning at the Bay of Diamant in Martinique and traveling to Guadeloupe, France, and Senegal, shining a light along the way on what it means to be Black in today’s globally interconnected world.

“Chœurs Atlantiques” explores how Black and Afro-descendant artists engage with the historical legacies of the slave trade, slavery, colonialism, and racial injustice and how they use their art to advance our understanding of this history.

For Babana-Hampton, the documentary is the culmination of years of research, artistic inquiry, and intellectual exploration. The project’s roots trace back to the 2009 International Council of Francophone Studies annual convention in New Orleans where Babana-Hampton participated in a panel on French philosopher Jacques Derrida’s concept of “hauntology” and its applications to Francophone post-carceral writings by former political prisoners in Morocco, a former French colony. Similar debates have taken place on a global scale on how legacies of past suffering and historical violence guide transitional justice work and shape contemporary cultural responses to various forms of injustice in the present, as well as visions of more just futures.