LARUICCI X NATAAL
ROKHAYA DIALLO
Speaking truth and power
All hail France’s multi-hyphenate advocate leading the charge for equality for all
“All that I do is motivated by my desire to defend ideas of social and gender equality in the public sphere and denounce the systemic institutional racism and sexism in my country,” Rokhaya Diallo tells me of what unites her many endeavours. A household name in France, she’s an acclaimed journalist, community activist, director, researcher and author. And yet, when regularly invited on national TV and radio panels for her incisive analysis, more often than not, her contributions to these debates are met with vitriolic reactions from fellow guests: outraged politicians and intellectuals, and their noisy supporters on social media.
“I genuinely think my existence is unbearable to them,” offers Diallo on her
detractors’ uproar. “They were brought up with the conviction that their ideas and opinions are more important than mine – an educated, dark-skinned, Black French woman. In their eyes I am not qualified to shred their racist, homophobic and misogynist views to pieces. Luckily, I enjoy being combative and do not feel intimidated by the ‘old boys' club’s bravado and lack of etiquette.”
Nothing illustrates this better than the recent legal ordeal Diallo endured after being charged with public defamation and placed under formal investigation following a criminal complaint made by a famous French philosopher. The reason? The philosopher found it unacceptable that Diallo referred to him as ‘a bully’ in a tweet - despite him mentioning her name 478 times on Twitter between September 2017 and January 2022 in a bid to discredit her. Thankfully, the judge dismissed the case. And while her family and friends remain her constant pillar of support, Diallo also has her own ever-growing online community which cheers her on for her unflinching activism. “I am very grateful for all the encouragement I receive,” she adds.
Diallo’s experiences of public speaking compelled her to establish the coaching school W.O.R.D with Benjamin Gourmel in 2023 in order to help other activists and feminists to communicate effectively. “W.O.R.D is a way to share the cultural capital I learnt – the hard way sometimes – when navigating the media industry. There are so many unsaid codes of expression that can set you up for failure if you do not know them. It can be intimidating for people coming from a modest background, especially women who are not used to taking up space. The good thing is that these techniques can be learned. We selected amazing coaches who run workshops on body language, breathing exercise, fashion style and many other aspects.”
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This powerhouse speaks from experience having had a working-class upbringing in Paris in a multicultural setting. She went on to study International and European law before gaining a masters in marketing and distribution in the audiovisual industry at Sorbonne-Pantheon in the noughties. “I feel privileged to have gained access to a great education thanks to the bursary system at a time when they were less available to ethnic minorities,” she reflects. “However, it is also in these predominantly white and privileged environments that my Frenchness was regularly questioned and doubted. That’s when I started to educate myself, got involved in local politics and joined feminist and antiracist associations.”
“I speak up to defend ideas of social and gender equality in the public sphere and denounce systemic institutional racism”
After a stint into the corporate world, Diallo worked in youth TV for almost a decade. A diehard anime fan, she also co-founded Japan Expo, the world’s largest convention on Japanese popular culture. Nevertheless, it was her staunch activism that truly revealed Diallo to the public eye. In 2007, irritated by the daily racism they were subjected to, Diallo and her peers founded The Indivisibles; a self-proclaimed group of activists whose goal was “to deconstruct, notably through humour and irony, ethno-racial prejudices and, first and foremost, that which denies or devalues the French identity of non-white French people”. Notably, it has hosted annual award ceremonies denouncing public figures who indulge in the most racist rhetoric.