Blacks that Traveled: Josephine 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 couldn’t stand it anymore… I felt liberated in Paris.” - Josephine Baker

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of Josephine Baker and as badly as I wanted to travel to France to search and explore the country that won the heart of Josephine when the U.S. only shunned her away, I was unable to make the trip. I was 10 years old when I first learned about Ms. Baker. Although it was actress Lynn Witfield who portrayed the amazing woman in the Josephine Baker Story I knew that I had fallen in love. I fell in love with her spirit, her courage, compassion and talent. At 10 I wanted to be Josephine Baker. I wanted to know more. France was something I knew of first because of Josephine. If there was any mention of it before in my lifetime I must have forgotten. Her provocative stage performances in the film had my tender eyes bulging from my head. I wanted to dance in banana skirts, amuse crowds and later fight for equality and serve in wars. While she is more commonly known for her seductive and playful stage manners, I remember Josephine for everything that she was…

For those who have yet to fall in love with her I suggest reading her incredible story and watching the same film that my parents allowed me to watch at such a young age, but forever impacted my life… Maybe it will be this year or the next, but it will certainly be sooner than later that I head across the pond to retrace the steps and dance a dance for Ms. Baker.