Josephine Baker's burial in the Panthéon in Paris – the highest honor for a woman who fought many battles

Josephine Baker demonstrated throughout her life just how significant and powerful the belief in a better tomorrow can be. A remarkable example that has lost none of its power even today – amidst the approaching second harsh winter of the pandemic.

France has a new heroine after Emmanuel Macron honored dancer and anti-racism activist Josephine Baker with her induction into the Panthéon in Paris. This marks the first time a Black civil rights activist has received this highest honor in French cultural policy.

The Panthéon in Paris is France's national mausoleum and the burial place of famous French figures. The philosopher Voltaire.

By awarding Baker the prize, Emmanuel Macron probably also wants to send a signal in support of the values ​​of the Fifth Republic.

Who was Josephine Baker?

Born Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, in the summer of 1906, the future French dancer and singer took Paris by storm in the 1920s with her beauty and vitality. With her grace and elegance, she symbolized the African American culture of that era.

Baker grew up fatherless and in poverty. From the age of 8 to 10, she didn't go to school in order to support her family. Even as a child, Baker developed a penchant for the extravagant, which would later make her famous.

In 1925, after a few years of experience in dance, singing, and musicals, she went to Paris to dance in La Revue Nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées . With her Danse Sauvage, she quickly became one of the most popular music hall entertainers in France and earned dream salaries at the Folies-Bergère , where she caused a sensation with a semi-nude dance in a string thong decorated with bananas.

She became a French citizen in 1937. She sang professionally for the first time in 1930, made her screen debut as a singer four years later in Zouzou , and made several more films before World War II restricted her career.

During the German occupation of France, Baker worked with the Red Cross and the Resistance , and as a member of the Free French Forces, he supported resistance fighters in Africa and the Middle East.

As an informal collaborator of the secret service, she also resisted the Nazis. For this, she later received the French Legion of Honor.

In 1959, after the end of World War II, she performed again in Paris. During this time, she traveled to the USA several times to participate in civil rights demonstrations . In 1968, her estate was sold to pay off accumulated debts.

She continued to perform in Paris until her death in 1975, during the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of her debut.

Her life was dramatized in the television film The Josephine Baker Story (1991) and covered in the documentary Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening (2018) .

Video: The life and sad end of Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker's numerous battles

In addition to her achievements in the resistance against Nazi Germany, Baker also distinguished herself after the end of World War II as a black civil rights activist and champion against racism .

She experienced racism early on. At the age of eight, she had to work as a maid, and at 13 she was forced into marriage (Source: Morning Briefing by Gabor Steingart).

Last but not least, she also fought against prudishness ("I wasn't really naked. I just wasn't wearing any clothes.") and knew how to defend herself against humorlessness :

Many women are only concerned with their good reputation, but the others will be happy.”

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor, and passionate blogger in the fields of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Graduated with a degree in web design from university (2008). Further developed creative techniques through courses in freehand drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market gained through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with key players and institutions in the arts and culture sector.

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