Cover Image: Courtyard photo (detail)
© Entrée to Black Paris

As part of a three-day symposium to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Congress of Negro Writers and Artists at the Sorbonne University, a "plaque unveiling" ceremony was held on Friday, September 18, 2026 .

Event flier
Created by Présence Africaine
Artwork credit: Obou Gbais, L’assemblée de l’émancipation, 2026
Source: Panthéon-Sorbonne Université de Paris I Website

The event featured an official preview of the plaque's inscription, offering attendees a first look at the commemorative text while site selection and installation details are being completed.

Alioune Diop, who initiated the congress, founded the journal Présence Africaine in Paris in 1947 and established the associated publishing house in 1949.  His wife, Christiane Yandé Diop (seated in the image below), directed the publishing house after the founder's death in 1980.  She was given the honor of unveiling a mock-up of the plaque at a special ceremony held in the Amphithéâtre Descartes, the same room where the original congress was held.

Mme Diop is a two-time recipient of the Legion of Honor (Knight in 2008; Officer in 2020) as well as a recipient of Senegal's Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion.  She celebrated her 101st birthday on August 27, 2026.

Mme Diop seated next to the veiled inscription
© Entrée to Black Paris

Mme Diop seated next to the unveiled inscription
© Entrée to Black Paris

The English translation of the inscription reads:  "From the 19th to the 22nd of September 1956, the Sorbonne welcomed the 'First International Congress of Black Writers and Artists' in the Descartes Amphitheater, organized at the initiative of the  Présence Africaine review and its founder Alioune Diop."

The inscription
© Entrée to Black Paris

Following the ceremony, conference panelists and attendees—including writers, professors, and artists—gathered in the Sorbonne courtyard for a group photograph. Madame Diop is seated in a wheelchair at the center of the front row.

Group photo of conference attendees
© Entrée to Black Paris

Details regarding the installation date and permanent location of the plaque are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.