Today is the birthday of Josephine Baker, African American dancer, entertainer, spy, and activist. 

Josephine was born in 1906 under suspicious circumstances. As noted by her son in Baker’s biography,  Josephine’s mother was taken in by a white hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and given care unknown to African American women at the time. Most minorities gave birth at home with the help of a midwife or nurse. Josephine’s mother never revealed the identity of Josephine’s father, but Josephine suspected he was white and fairly wealthy which would account for her mother’s special treatment during the birth. 

Josephine was raised by her mother and stepfather in St. Louis. She had two half-sisters. There’s not much information about her early childhood, but she had quit school by 12 and was out on the streets at 13. Either home was an unwelcoming place or she really wanted her independence. She ended up living on the streets of St. Louis, waitressing, dumpster-diving, and dancing on corners for money. It was about that time that she joined the Jones Family Band as a dancer. 

At age 15, Josephine entered into a marriage with Willie Baker. Over the next few years, her dancing improved being a part of a vaudeville troupe and by 1925, the group had offers in New York City. Josephine left St. Louis and her marriage behind. 

In New York City, Josephine a well-known chorus girl, but wasn’t satisfied. She wanted more. Not long after landing in New York City, she took a boat to France to dance in a show in Paris. However, she quickly found fame dancing on her own in cabarets, scantily clad. She seemed to have a hold on the French people and embraced France and Europe for the freedoms it afforded her. Like many stars of her time, she found her civil liberties were far greater in Europe than America. 

Perhaps one of Josephine Baker’s most famous performances was “Danse Sauvage” in which she danced with a “banana” skirt, and either a bikini top, or topless. Very French. She also had a pet cheetah named “Chiquita” who would often escape and “play with” the band, much to the horror of the musicians and the delight of the audience. 

While she did not see the same success in America, her charm was undeniable. Ernest Hemingway said Josephine was “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw” and met her often while in Paris. 

At the outbreak of WWII, Josephine was clandestinely asked to be an “honorable correspondent” for the French. As an well-known entertainer throughout Europe and internationally, she was constantly hob-nobbing in high society which included politicians and generals. She hid notes on the inside of her underwear when traveling, hoping she’d be spared ‘strip searches’ as a prominent lady. New sheet music for her also included invisible ink with communicae.

After the war, Baker received the Croix de Guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance for her service.

After WWII she became increasingly involved in the Civil Rights Movement and the NAACP in America despite her long tenure in France. Her reputation as an entertainer finally growing in the states. She refused to perform to integrated crowds and her demands were met rather than lose the ticket sales. She spoke at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King, Jr, and to the crowd said “I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents. And much more. But I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee, and that made me mad. And when I get mad, you know that I open my big mouth.”

 

Rudyard Kipling

 

You mustn't swim till you're six weeks old, 

Or your head will be sunk by your heels; 

And summer gales and Killer Whales 

   Are bad for baby seals. 

Are bad for baby seals, dear rat, 

   As bad as bad can be. 

But splash and grow strong, 

And you can't be wrong, 

   Child of the Open Sea!