Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was born in St. Louis as Freda Josephine McDonald. Her mother was a washerwoman and her father a vaudeville drummer. He soon left the family, and her mother married a kind but unemployed man. Baker had to clean houses and take care of children for wealthy families. When she was 13, she got a job as a waitress, and was briefly married. Because she was always financially independent, she could leave men when she wasn’t happy with them. (Baker was her second husband’s name.) In 1919, Baker toured the U.S. with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers. She would roll her eyes and act clumsy on stage to make audiences laugh. Later she worked at The Plantation Club in New York. However, she encountered racism in the U.S. Said Baker, One day I realized I was living in a country where I was afraid to be black. It was only a country for white people. Not black. So I left. I had been suffocating in the United States... A lot of us left, not because we wanted to leave, but because we couldnt stand it anymore... I felt liberated in Paris. When she traveled to Paris, Baker discovered a freer climate and receptive audiences. Her exotic costumes and uninhibited dancing made her wildly popular. Baker said, “Since I personified the savage on the stage, I tried to be as civilized as possible in daily life.” With financial success, she collected clothes, jewelry and pets. At various times, Baker owned a leopard named Chiquita, a chimpanzee named Ethel, a pig named Albert, a snake named Kiki, plus a goat, parakeets, fish, 3 cats and 7 dogs. Baker starred in “La Revue Negre” in Paris, and later in “La Folie du Jour” at the Follies-Bergere Theater. Her most famous costume was the skirt with 16 bananas strung across it. By 1927, she was often photographed and highly paid. In the 1930s, Baker starred in 2 movies, then moved her family to her estate in France. In 1936, Baker returned to the U.S. to perform in the Zeigfield Follies, but American audiences rejected the idea of a sophisticated black woman. Baker commented, “The white imagination is sure something when it comes to blacks.” She returned to Europe to escape racism. During W.W. II, Baker performed for the troops in Africa and the Middle East, as well as working for the French Resistance. She smuggled messages written on her music sheets. Baker was awarded the Medal of the Resistance with Rosette and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government. In the 1950s and 60s, Baker vowed to fight racism in the U.S. When the Stork Club refused to hire her, she battled Walter Winchell in the press. She refused to work in clubs that were not integrated. At the 1963 March on Washington, Baker addressed the crowd, You are on the eve of a complete victory. You cant go wrong. The world is behind you. The NAACP named May 20 Josephine Baker Day. Baker adopted several children of various ethnicities, referred to as “The Rainbow Tribe.” Baker continued to travel in the U.S., and secretly married an American artist. Baker received a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall in New York, a triumphant moment after years of rejection for her race. In 1975, Baker went back to Paris to perform at the Bobino Theater. She died soon after of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 68. More than 20,000 people crowded the streets for her funeral procession in Paris. In 1991, HBO produced the film, “The Josephine Baker Story.” See her famous banana dance here: https://youtube/watch?v=wmw5eGh888Y
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:57:41 +0000
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