Black History Month 2015 - The Harlem Renaissance - Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker (image source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-spies-suspect/story?id=15528916)

When I was doing the Black History posts on WordPress, I usually had a particular individual that I focused on. This time I was so fascinated by the back story of the whole Harlem Renaissance that I felt I had to include it in the total series. Today I am going to start looking at the notable individuals of the era.  The first individuals I wanted to focus on I alluded to in the prior entry about music and fashion.  For this year I originally intended to do multiple eras of Black arts, but with the myriad of talent from the Harlem Renaissance I may not get to the others!

To start off this sub-series I would like to look at the amazing Josephine Baker.  I of course include a link to a video of the famous Banana Dance at the end.


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From Wikipedia:

Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress who came to be known in various circles as the "Black Pearl," "Bronze Venus" and even the "Creole Goddess". Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine later became a citizen of France in 1937. She was fluent in both English and French.

Baker was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934) or to become a world-famous entertainer. Baker, who refused to perform for segregated audiences in America, is also noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. She was once offered unofficial leadership in the movement in the United States by Coretta Scott King in 1968, following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. Baker, however, turned down the offer. She was also known for assisting the French Resistance during World War II, and received the French military honor, the Croix de guerre and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle.

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Josephine Baker is one of those legendary figures that most people have at least heard the name even if they don't know the whole story.  I don't even remember when I first heard of her but the only thing I knew was the banana skirt and that she was a dancer (I assumed burlesque based om the outfit).

She is so much more than the iconic comedic seduction! It is incredible that she was an instrumental figure in her new home of France during WWII.  Her refusal to perform in segregated venues may have stifled her career in the USA but didn't stop her from becoming an international star in the end with a career that spanned over 50 years.

As promised, here is a link, to a short bit of the infamous banana dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4kG79YpUQ



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More videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Y7_J3U-_I (Don't Touch My Tomatoes performance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhNv7dRHQI (a short segment about her with great footage)