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“My fate and that of the Africa I so ardently love have been intertwined from the beginning. And where there is love there is no option but to serve.”Andrée Blouin was a prominent Pan-African activist in the mid-20th century. She described herself simply as an African woman “inflamed by injustice,” devoted to liberating the continent from colonial rule. Born a century ago in what is now the Central African Republic, Andrée Blouin has recently attracted renewed attention. The 2024 documentary “Soundtrack to a Coup d’État,” which was nominated for an Oscar and won the Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, features narrated passages from her autobiography, “My Country, Africa: Autobiography of a Black Pasionaria.” The film places her at the heart of the Pan-African movement as both a key advisor and emancipatory figure in the struggle against European colonial rule. Andrée Blouin was born on December 16, 1921, in a small village in the French colony of Ubangi-Shari. After experiencing numerous humiliations at work, 17-year-old Andrée decided it was time to take a break to regain her strength and passion. She went on a boat trip, where she met Roger Serruys, a Belgian aristocrat, and began her first romantic relationship. Due to the social pressure surrounding Andrée’s mixed ethnicity, Mr. Serruys chose to keep their romance concealed. In 1942, Andrée celebrated her 21st birthday by giving birth to her son, René. This moment brought immense joy to the couple. Unfortunately, René became seriously ill with malaria when he was just two years old. Because of colonial policies, the life-saving drug quinine was reserved for Europeans, known as the Quinine Card Law. René was denied treatment because he was one-quarter African. Andrée urgently appealed to the local authorities, including the mayor, for access to quinine to save René’s life, but her plea was callously turned down. René passed away soon after. This devastating loss had a profound effect on Andrée. She states, “When I lost my bronzed little boy, I saw finally the pattern connecting my fate with that of my countrymen, and knew that I must act.” Andrée Blouin launched a campaign against the Quinine Card Law, which restricted Africans’ access to malaria treatment. But years of oppression had conditioned her peers into submission and apathy, and her efforts were met with silence. Undeterred, she persevered, and with the support of her father, Pierre Gerbillat, she eventually helped to change the law.
