Report by Tiffany Chang
Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906, to Carrie McDonald, a
washerwoman, and Eddie Carson, a vaudeville drummer. At a very tender age, her father left
their family, but this sadness lasted shortly because soon after, her mother remarried.
Josephine ended up with three siblings: two sisters and a brother. At age of 8 she began
working; cleaning homes and babysitting for wealthy white families. By age 13, she had taken a
job as a waitress at The Old Chauffeur’s Club, there she met her first husband Willie Wells, but
that marriage did not last long. She married another 3 times, to Willie Baker, Jean Lion, and Jo
Bouillon, but she divorced all three times because she didn’t want to depend on a single man for financial support.
At around the same time she married Willie Wells, she took up dance classes and began
applying her new learned skills in clubs and street performances. By 1919, she had started her
tour with the Jones Family Band and Dixie Steppers performing various comical skits. Soon after
she landed another role in the musical Shuffle Along in 1923 and the comical touch she brought
into it allowed her to become quite popular. Around the peak of France’s obsession with
American Jazz and exotic things, Josephine decided to travel to Paris. There her act “La Revue
Negre” captivated her audiences, making her famous almost instantaneously. Another one of
her acts with her dance partner Joe Alex “Danse Sauvage” in which she wore only a feathered
skirt also captivated her audiences. Her acts were very exotic and novel, so they allowed her to
thrive in Parisian society, furthering her career tremendously. The majority of her performance
was completely fresh, and she brought about a love of the new style throughout Paris. Her
most famous act was “La Folie du Jour”, in which she wore a skirt made of 16 bananas. Her
career in Europe flourished (as her acts were widely appreciated), but when she returned to
United States to perform in the Ziegfield Follies she was met with great hostility and racism.
Americans rejected the idea that an African American woman could have such popularity and
power. Disappointed, she soon went back to Europe, returning once in awhile with a renewed
resolve to fight against the racism. Around this time, she and Jo Boullion decided to adopt 12
children from around the world and raised a family in an effort to prove the point that
differences in ethnicity and religion shouldn’t stop people from being a family. She referred
these children as her “ rainbow tribe” and her “experiment in brotherhood.” During the 1950s
she returned often to United States to lend her support for the Civil Rights movement. Helping
with boycotts demonstrations of segregated clubs and concert venues After all of her failed
marriages, she married American artist Robert Brady. The marriage was an important personal
bond between her and Brady. She kept this pseudo-marriage relatively undisclosed, as she was
afraid of being ridiculed.In 1973, she performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York which was
greeted with much support and love which allowed for her comeback to the stage in America.
And during April of 1975, Josephine began to perform her first series of performances to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of her Paris debut. Tragically, a few days into her performances
on April 12, 1975, Josephine Baker died in her sleep of a cerebral hemorrhage at age of 69.
Josephine Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906, to Carrie McDonald, a
washerwoman, and Eddie Carson, a vaudeville drummer. At a very tender age, her father left
their family, but this sadness lasted shortly because soon after, her mother remarried.
Josephine ended up with three siblings: two sisters and a brother. At age of 8 she began
working; cleaning homes and babysitting for wealthy white families. By age 13, she had taken a
job as a waitress at The Old Chauffeur’s Club, there she met her first husband Willie Wells, but
that marriage did not last long. She married another 3 times, to Willie Baker, Jean Lion, and Jo
Bouillon, but she divorced all three times because she didn’t want to depend on a single man for financial support.
At around the same time she married Willie Wells, she took up dance classes and began
applying her new learned skills in clubs and street performances. By 1919, she had started her
tour with the Jones Family Band and Dixie Steppers performing various comical skits. Soon after
she landed another role in the musical Shuffle Along in 1923 and the comical touch she brought
into it allowed her to become quite popular. Around the peak of France’s obsession with
American Jazz and exotic things, Josephine decided to travel to Paris. There her act “La Revue
Negre” captivated her audiences, making her famous almost instantaneously. Another one of
her acts with her dance partner Joe Alex “Danse Sauvage” in which she wore only a feathered
skirt also captivated her audiences. Her acts were very exotic and novel, so they allowed her to
thrive in Parisian society, furthering her career tremendously. The majority of her performance
was completely fresh, and she brought about a love of the new style throughout Paris. Her
most famous act was “La Folie du Jour”, in which she wore a skirt made of 16 bananas. Her
career in Europe flourished (as her acts were widely appreciated), but when she returned to
United States to perform in the Ziegfield Follies she was met with great hostility and racism.
Americans rejected the idea that an African American woman could have such popularity and
power. Disappointed, she soon went back to Europe, returning once in awhile with a renewed
resolve to fight against the racism. Around this time, she and Jo Boullion decided to adopt 12
children from around the world and raised a family in an effort to prove the point that
differences in ethnicity and religion shouldn’t stop people from being a family. She referred
these children as her “ rainbow tribe” and her “experiment in brotherhood.” During the 1950s
she returned often to United States to lend her support for the Civil Rights movement. Helping
with boycotts demonstrations of segregated clubs and concert venues After all of her failed
marriages, she married American artist Robert Brady. The marriage was an important personal
bond between her and Brady. She kept this pseudo-marriage relatively undisclosed, as she was
afraid of being ridiculed.In 1973, she performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York which was
greeted with much support and love which allowed for her comeback to the stage in America.
And during April of 1975, Josephine began to perform her first series of performances to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of her Paris debut. Tragically, a few days into her performances
on April 12, 1975, Josephine Baker died in her sleep of a cerebral hemorrhage at age of 69.