Josephie Baker

Josephine Baker was a very talented African American woman. She was a great singer, dancer, and entertainer. I believe she should be honored in black history. Her life journey began on June 3 1906, the time she was born. Baker grew up in poverty and with no father. Through ages 8 through 10, baker was out of school help to support her family. During her child hood, it was easy to see that she become famous. as a teen/preteen ,she became a dancer .she began touring with her dance group at the age of 16 .she joined a chorus and auditioned for the musical "Shuffle Along" but, was not selected because of her skin color .she later moved to new York city where she performed musical numbers on Broadway. Baker was known a the woman who danced her way thought the 20's and 30’s. When she moved to Paris in 1925 and performed in la Revue negre , her career reached a turning point . Her performance made her the most photographed woman in the world and in 1927; she earned more than any entertainer in Europe at the time. She bought castle in France and she spent her money on clothing an over 16 pets. In the 1930's she starred in two movies. 1n 1936 she had her first bad review in 20 years .it was in the u.s. where she was not welcome because of her skin color . During world war two, she helped by performing for the troops. She received may rewards for being under cover and sneaking messages in on music sheets in invisible ink. When war was over, she helped to fight racism through media along side Walter Winchell. Josephine then began to adopt children, 10 boys and 2 girls they were all of different races so she called them her rainbow tribe. She soon had to sell her castle, leaving the children homeless. In the begging of the 70, princess grace took her in and she reached higher point in her career. she came to New York and performed at the carnage hall .the city has culturally grown since the last time she’s been on stage, she cried because she was so touched . Her last performance was April 8 1968. She died three days after. She had a very successful life all together and she should be honored for it .That is why I chose Josephine Baker.