Josephine Baker

Photo: Gaston Paris/Roger Viollet/Getty Images

The sexy, sultry and avant-garde performer that swept Europe by storm, Josephine Baker, was born as Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. While growing up in St. Louis, Baker worked for white families and waitressed tables at nearby diners. In 1919, Baker toured the United States with the Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers performing various comical skits. After the troupe split, she auditioned as the chorus girl for The Dixie Steppers, but was onslaught with racism when casters said that she was “too dark” for the role. Baker later received the role after a chorus girl quit.

After working at the Plantation Club in New York, Baker decided to travel to Paris for a new venture, La Revue Nègre. This was the era when Paris started to become the talent utopia for African Americans to thrive in the arts such as in the case of Baker and writer James Baldwin.

Unlike the United States, Baker was highly respected and praised for her lively theatrical performances in Paris. Baker became an overnight sensation sashaying on stage for sold out shows in very revealing feather skirts and exotic costumes. Despite being called a “Negro wench” by the New York Times, Baker was more than just a “sexy dancer”; she was also an honorable correspondent for the French Resistance. During World War II, Baker smuggled secret messages written on her sheet music that helped the French army. Baker was later awarded the Medal of Resistance and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government for her hard work and dedication.

Baker’s eclectic nature prompted her to form her own family that she described as “The Rainbow Tribe”. Baker adopted twelve children from different ethnicities and religions to show people that although they were different they could still be brothers and sisters. In addition to her children, Baker also owned a pet cheetah (Chiquita), a chimpanzee (Ethel), a snake (Kiki) and countless other domesticated animals.

Baker died on April 12, 1975 and over 20,000 people crowded the streets of Paris to cast their farewells to the beloved performer who forever revolutionized the way African-American women were depicted in Europe. Her zest for life, animated performances and dedication to civil rights made her one of the most iconic women in Paris during the 20^th century. On behalf of her resilience, the French government honored her with a 21-gun salute, making Baker the first American woman buried in France with French military honors.

Source: CMGWW