Josephine Baker and her Contribution to the Civil Rights Movement - Research Paper Example

 Josephine Baker and her Contribution to the Civil Rights Movement Abstract The following discourse is a comprehensive assessment of the significant contribution of Josephine Baker to the American Civil Rights Movement and what she did to help lessen racial discrimination and oppression against African-Americans. It is made up of a historical account as well as a comprehensive discussion about her advocacy of civil rights and the legacy that she left to her fellow Americans and people from other countries. The Life and Times of Josephine Baker Josephine Baker, an African-American, was born in the slum areas of East St. Illinois, USA on June 3, 1906. She grew up to be a very exceptional dancer but since she was black, the young Josephine was denied access to the better venues and opportunities in this country. Because of this discrimination, she left America for France and became a French citizen. Josephine joined the French resistance movement during World War II (Encyclopedia of World Biography). “At a tender age of eight, Josephine worked as a maid for a white woman and was forced to sleep in the coal cellar with a pet dog. She was scalded on the hands whenever she used too much soap in the laundry. Josephine witnessed the cruel East St. Louis race riot of 1917. She moved from the St. Louis area at the age of 13 and emigrated out of the United States at 19” (Rose, 1988). According to one published biography, Baker married Jean Lion, a French industrialist who divorced her in 1940. Josephine became a Red Cross nurse when Germany invaded Belgium and during the occupation of France, she joined the French Resistance serving as an underground courier. For her feats of heroism, Baker was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur by General Charles de Gaulle and the Rosette of the Résistance (Haney, 1998, pp. 2 - 10). Baker became a star of the Folies Bergères, a musical hall established in 1869 in Paris, France which was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s until the 1920s. She was given monikers such as Bronze Venus, Black Pearl, Créole Goddess and La Baker. Her career thrived in the integrated Paris society when La Revue Nègre closed, Josephine starred in La Folie du Jour at the Follies-Bergère Theater. Her jaw-dropping performance, including a costume of 16 bananas strung into a skirt, cemented her celebrity status. Josephine rivaled Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford as the most photographed woman in the world, and by 1927 she earned more than any entertainer in Europe. She starred in two movies in the early 1930s, Zou-Zou and Princess Tam-Tam, and moved her family from St. Louis to Les Milandes, her estate in Castelnaud-Fayrac, France.  The race and complexion of the Bronze Venus hardly made a distinction in the artistic world of Paris. After the war, she opted to launch a personal crusade against racism initially by adopting a dozen children of different ethnic backgrounds in her “rainbow tribe”.  They were: Janot (Korean son), Akio (Japanese son), Luis (Colombian son), Jari (Finnish son), Jean-Claude (Canadian son), Moïse (French Jewish son), Brahim (Algerian son), Marianne (French daughter), Koffi (Ivorian son), Mara (Venezuelan son), Noël (French son), and Stellina (Moroccan daughter). It was also chronicled that Josephine agreed to perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall that same year. Due to previous experience, she was nervous about how the audience and critics would receive her. This time, however, cultural and racial growth was evident. Josephine received a standing ovation before the concert even began. The enthusiastic welcome was so touching that she wept onstage. In 1951, Josephine joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of Martin Luther King, Jr. “Wearing her Free French uniform emblazoned with her medal of the Légion d’ Honneur, Baker was the only woman to speak at the rally. After King’s assassination, his widow Coretta Scott King approached Baker in Holland to ask if she would take her husband’s place as leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. After many days of thinking it over, Baker declined, saying her children were “… too young to lose their mother” (Kwame and Gates). According to some articles, there was evidence that Josephine baker was bisexual. One of her adopted sons, Jean-Claude Baker, writing in his book Josephine: The Hungry Heart, stated that “she was involved in numerous lesbian affairs, both while she was single and married, and mentions six of her female lovers by name. Clara Smith, Evelyn Sheppard, Bessie Allison, Ada “Bricktop” Smith, and Mildred Smallwood were all African-American women she met while touring on the black performing circuit early in her career. She was also involved with the writer Colette, and possibly with Caroline Dudley Reagan, who ran the Paris extravaganza La Revue Nègre” (Giddings, 1996) On April 8, 1975, Baker performed at the Bobino in Paris in celebration of her 50 years in show business. The extravaganza was funded by no less than Prince Rainier, Princess Grace, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It was so well-attended that fold-out chairs had to be added to accommodate spectators. Celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Mick Jagger, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli were present. Four days after this immensely successful performance, the Naked Pearl was discovered in her room unconscious and was diagnosed with cerebral hemorrhage. Baker went into a coma and never recovered. She died at the Pitie-Salpertiere Hospital. Her funeral was held at the L’ Eglise de la Madeleine and she was finally put to rest at the Cimetiere de Monaco in Monte Carlo. Josephine Baker Her funeral was held at L'Église de la Madeleine. Josephine Baker was the first American woman accorded full military honors by the French Government. Advocate of Civil Rights Even after Josephine Baker became a French citizen, she actively campaigned for the Civil Rights Movement that took place in the United States during the 1950's The famous African-American actress was one of the prominent participants of the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. This civil rights demonstration was attended a quarter of a million people and was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital. The civil rights activists demanded the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works program to provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; $2 an hour minimum wage; and self-government for the District of Columbia which had a black majority (Ross, 2007). One article described Josephine Baker as having rose from poverty to emerge not only as a world-class entertainer, dancer, singer and actress but also an active civil rights activist. She ran away from racial discrimination and segregation in the United States of America and sought refuge in Paris where she became a star and at the same time promoted civil rights and universal brotherhood on visits to the US and other places. A very vivid description of Josephine Baker as a staunch civil rights activist is presented in the February 2010 issue of Pin Curl Magazine: “Josephine never left the United States behind completely. She kept vigilant watch over the events going on in the Civil Rights movement while enjoying her success in France. By the time she had amped her popularity in film and on stage in Europe, becoming one of the best if not, the highest paid performer of her time and ranking amongst the most photographed women in the world, she knew she had a new mission, to aid in the fight for Civil Rights in the United States. She was invited to speak at the 1963 march on Washington DC, where Martin Luther King Jr.’s infamous speech still runs shivers down the spines of those who hear it. “Until the March on Washington,” Josephine stated, “I always had this little feeling in my stomach. I was always afraid. I couldn’t meet white American people. I didn’t want to be around them. But now that little gnawing feeling is gone. For the first time in my life I feel free. I know that everything is right now.” Josephine continued to help the cause by refusing to perform or appear in places that did not allow blacks to enter or refused them seating. She was very public about her stance on equality, even when it meant open and public media battles” (Goode, 2010). In various published annals, Josephine Baker was always listed among black American women who became key figures in advocating civil rights and fighting racial discrimination in America. The Legacy of Josephine Baker The Bronze Venus or Black Pearl left lasting legacies in as far as social and cultural aspects are concerned. The cultural legacy of Josephine Baker's is considered very much alive beyond the hundredth anniversary of her birth in 1906. It exists in live performances, art, photography, fashion, film, literature, and social activism. Baker mesmerized audiences during her lifetime and continues to attract and mystify biographers. Much recent scholarship on Baker has placed her in a pantheon of black feminist heroines, which often has produced a larger-than-life, one-dimensional image. Regardless of the reasons for such depictions, there is a need to remove Baker from reductive stereotypes and to humanize her legacy (Bennetta, 2007). To many Americans and even Europeans, Josephine Baker was not merely a cultural icon but a heroine. She was somebody who was regarded by millions of people as an outstanding performer and at the same time inspired fellow civil rights campaigners to pursue their crusade for justice and equality. Ultimately, Josephine Baker left a lasting legacy which is best described in the Jerry Jazz Musician Interviews, “As a crusader in the Forties and Fifties she advanced the cause of civil rights in America, so that conditions for Blacks improved faster than they might have done without her. As a dancer in the Twenties she brought Afro-American dancing to the attention of European dancers and choreographers, helping to bring about a creative fusion of styles, and as a wonderful mixture of cheerful instinctive vitality and fashionable chic, she was a great influence and example to young people. She showed that being real was better than having over-correct good manners, and that life was for living. She told it like it is. And above all, of course, she was a hypnotic entertainer - magnificently stylish, sexy and witty ”. Assessment As a background, the African-American Civil Rights Movement was very active from 1955 until 1968. It fought hard to outlaw racial discrimination against African-Americans and restore the Right to Suffrage in the Southern states. The Black Power Movement, which lasted from 1966 to 1975 enhanced the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from oppression by white Americans. Many of those who were active in the Civil Rights Movement to include organizations such as NAACP, SNCC, CORE and SCLC battled for civil rights under law as well as fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity, and economic and social equality. Acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities (Morris, 1984). The primary clamor of advocates of civil rights was to Human rights advocacy groups in the United States have called for the federal government and state governments to make more concerted efforts to sweep away racial and ethnic disparities Civil Rights Activists like Josephine Baker were at the forefront of this crusade for the sake of African-Americans, regarded as an ethnic group vis-à-vis the study of Sociology. It is important to note that Josephine Baker's career as an entertainer and actress did not prevent her from pursuing the more noble tasks of fighting for the rights of her oppressed countrymen. What Josephine Baker achieved during her lifetime is certainly worthy of emulation. In fact, the response to her deeds of heroism has been very favorable. Let Josephine Baker serve as an inspiration not only to the American youth but to the younger generation of other nations as well. References Bennetta, J. (2007). Josephine Baker in Art and Life. PostModern HomeGirl. New York Times. pp. 1-2 Biographical Essay of Josephine Baker. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd Ed., Vol. 17. Kwame, A, and Gates, H (Eds). Josephine Baker. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Basic Civitas Books. Giddings, P. (1996). When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. Harper. Goode, H. (2010). Legends: Josephine Baker. Pin Curl Magazine. Jerry Jazz Musicians Interview (1998-2004). The Legacy of Josephine Baker. Haney, L. (1998). Naked at the Feast. The Biography of Josephine Baker. Robson Books Ltd; New edition. pp. 2-10. Lambert, S. Josephine Baker: Bisexual Icon. Bisexual Examiner. http://www.examiner.com Lewis, J. Biography of Josephine Baker. Women’s History. About.com Morris, A (1984). The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change. New York: The Free Press. Rose, P. (1988). Jazz Cleopatra. Vintage/Ebury (Random House Group) Ross, S. (2007). Civil Rights March on Washington. Pearson Edition. www.infoplease.com Read More