The French Encounter with Africans: White Response to Blacks, 1530-1880. Foreword by James D. Le SueurAs French and American historians of France are revisiting the history of French racism today, William B. Cohen's book is more important than ever. It has become a classic. Nancy L. Green In this pioneering work, William B. Cohen traces the ways in which negative attitudes toward blacks became deeply embedded in French culture. Examining the forces that shaped these views, Cohen reveals the persistent inequality of French interactions with blacks in