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Article: CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGE: THE FIRST BLACK SUPERSTAR?(LOCAL)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- August 5, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: William H. Alexander
A recent article in the Parade section of The Virginian-Pilot about African-American members of this year's U.S. Olympic fencing team brings to mind the unique accomplishments of the world's first black fencing master in 18th-century France.
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George, was born in Guadeloupe in 1739 to a beautiful Senegalese slave woman and an aristocratic French plantation owner. As occasionally happened even within the oppressive slave systems of the Caribbean, Joseph's father was fond of his son and undertook to secure for him in France privileges that were rare for people of color in the 18th century.
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