Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer and singer who symbolized the beauty and vitality of Black American culture, which took Paris by storm in the 1920s. She went on to become one of the most influential music hall entertainers of France.
Baker grew up in poverty and fatherless. At the age of 8, she was out of school, helping to support her family. She worked as a housekeeper and later as a waitress at The Old Chauffeur’s Club, where she met her first husband. She married William Howard Baker at the age of 15 but left him shortly after, fleeing the racism and racial inequality that prevailed in her native Saint Louis. As an adolescent, she became a dancer, touring at 16 with a dance troupe from Philadelphia. Josephine then moved to New York City, where she advanced through the show Chocolate Dandies on Broadway and the floor show of the Plantation Club.
In 1925, Josephine Baker went to Paris to dance in La Revue Nègre and introduced her danse sauvage to France. She created a sensation, blurring the line between humor and exoticism by dancing seminude in a G-string ornamented with 16 bananas.
“I wasn’t really naked; I simply didn’t have any clothes on.”
Josephine Baker
She sang professionally for the first time in 1930 and, by 1936, Baker returned to the United States to perform, riding the wave of popularity she was enjoying in France, hoping to establish herself as a renowned artist in her home country as well. However, she was met with a hostile, racist reaction and quickly returned to France. Upon her return, Baker married French industrialist Jean Lion and obtained citizenship in 1937 from the country that had embraced her as one of its own.
After the war, much of her energy was devoted to Les Milandes, which she began in 1950 to adopt babies of all nationalities in a cause she defined as “an experiment in brotherhood” and her “rainbow tribe.” She adopted 12 children and often invited people to the estate to see them to show that people of different races could live together harmoniously.
“Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than the skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely to speak one’s soul; when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood.”
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker retired from the stage in 1956. She traveled several times to the United States to participate in civil rights demonstrations and boycotted segregated clubs and concert venues. After decades of rejections by her compatriots and a lifetime spent dealing with racism, Baker performed at Carnegie Hall in New York and was greeted with a standing ovation in 1973. She was so moved by her reception that she wept openly before her audience. The show was a tremendous success and marked Baker’s comeback to the scene.
She continued to perform occasionally until her death in 1975. More than 20,000 people lined the streets of Paris to witness the funeral.
Josephine Baker was introduced to me through a study of feminist and queer rebellion. Black female performers have challenged racism, sexism, and heteronormativity. However, the passing traces of historical performances are always in danger of being erased, which is why we must continue to spread their story and the struggles these women have overcome. Josephine Baker both shocked and delighted me with her story, not only for overcoming racism and sexism, but also for the choices she made with her life. Adopting children from all over the world to send the message that we are all equal, being a French spy against Nazi Germany, and an activist for the rights of black people definitely makes Josephine Baker the perfect role model.