Josephine baker

1906 -1975

St. Louis, Missouri

Entertainer, activist

Josephine Baker grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri working small jobs to supplement her family's income. One job, dancing on street corners, caught the eye of a Black dance troupe. She left home at the age of 15 to officially join the group and dance in various Vaudeville shows.

Her work took her to New York during the Harlem renaissance, and eventually, Paris, where she stared in shows like La Revue Negre wearing her emphasis banana skirt.

While she's known as an entertainer, Baker battled against the Nazi regime during World War II by attending Axis-adjacent parties and passing along intelligence to the Allies. Shortly after that, she moved back to the United States and fought during the Civil Rights movement, and was one of the few women allowed to speak at the March on Washington.