The LIT History Series is for the Legends, Innovators, and Trailblazers that have shaped our culture. I love history, and in turn, I love Black history. So much of our culture has been defined by those who’ve come before us, so I write this to capture and chronicle our narratives.
What makes Josephine Baker so great? The short answer: a lot. Fam, Josephine Baker embodies all things jazz, flapper, and 1920’s fabulousness. She was the quintessential It Girl of the Jazz Age, and she encompasses every bit of Black Girl Magic.
Ok, so who was she? Dancer. Singer. Civil Rights Activist. Born in St. Louis in 1906, Josephine Baker cleaned houses and babysat for white families as a child. She ran away from home at age 13 and began waitressing at The Old Chauffeur’s Club. It was at this time that she began a career in performance.
Josephine made her Broadway debut at age 16 starring in Shuffle Along, which also launched the career of Paul Robeson (a man I will definitely be covering at a later date). In 1925, she traveled to Paris to perform in La Revue Nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Parisians were obsessed with American jazz culture at this time, and when Josephine performed on stage wearing only a feather skirt, the crowd went wild. She quickly became one of Europe’s most popular and highest-paid performers.
What else did she do? Josephine became so popular, especially after she danced wearing little more than a skirt made of 16 bananas that it is rumored to have been followed by more than 1,000 marriage proposals. She also had the admiration of cultural figures like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, and she earned herself nicknames like “Black Venus”, “Jazz Cleopatra”, and “Black Pearl.” She was one of the most photographed women in the world at this time.
Bake also starred in three movies at this time: Siren of the Tropics (1927), Zouzou (1934), and Princesse Tam Tam (1935). These movies only reached popularity in Europe.
Even though Josephine Baker received immense success in France and the rest of Europe, the same can’t be said for her experiences in America. Josephine returned home in 1936 in hopes of establishing herself in her home country. Instead, she was met with racial prejudice and hostility (shocking!). Publications went so far as to call her a “Negro Wench”, and she went back to France disappointed.
During WWII, Josephine worked for the Red Cross as well as the French Resistance. She often smuggled hidden messages in her sheet music and even in her underwear. She was later awarded two of France’s highest honors for these efforts, the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour with the Rosette of the Resistance.
She returned to the U.S. in the 1950’s where she fought segregation and participated in boycotts/demonstrations, refusing to play in venues that weren’t integrated. Josephine even wrote articles on segregation and gave a speech at Fisk University on race and equality. The NAACP eventually named May 20th “Josephine Baker Day” for her dedication to civil rights.
In her 40’s and 50’s, Josephine Baker adopted a dozen children, often referring to them as her “Rainbow Tribe.” She passed away in 1975 at the age of 68 in Paris, and she was the only American-born woman to receive full French military honors.
HBO released The Josephine Baker Story in 1991 starring Lynn Whitfield in the title role. The film won five Emmys and one of the three Golden Globes it was nominated for that season.
Josephine Baker embraced her sexuality, and she symbolized the beauty of Black America culture. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, and she was the first Black woman to become a world famous entertainer.
Black. Girl. Magic.
