Hi, y'all! For August's Bite-sized Black History, I thought I'd share one of my favorite lesser-known Black activists. Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. She came from humble roots and grew up playing in railroad yards.
Josephine knew from a young age that she wanted to be an entertainer. After having witnessed racial violence and enduring two marriages by age 15, she found that she enjoyed her work as a street performer. The group, called the Jones Family Band, booked a venue in New York City that would change the trajectory of her life.
She danced on Broadway with Harlem Renaissance legend Adelaide Hall, and was in several chorus lines of musicals, with Shuffle Along being her most groundbreaking role during her early career. At 19 years old, she sailed to Paris and danced an opening to a show.
Her fame boomed as Parisians flocked to her shows, dance halls packed full to watch Josephine perform. Over time, she became the most successful American working in France. Icons like Ernest Hemingway praised her performances.
In World War II, when France declared war on Germany, Baker was recruited by the French military intelligence. Throughout the war, she housed immigrants, gave them visas, and used her entertainer status to carry messages across country borders. She was never caught during her tenure as a spy and was rewarded with a Resistance Medal after the war.
Josephine Baker continued her activism after the war, supporting the Civil Rights Movement in her home country by holding speeches before, after, and even between songs during her performances. She lived a peaceful remainder of her life and passed at age 68.
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