Josephine:

The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker

Patricia Hruby Powell, 2013

The next book is one with a rather dazzling story, a book called Josephine.

The book is a biography about superstar performer Josephine Baker and her life, from rags to riches. Born in 1906, a time of segregation, she managed to find her place in the world and make her name known.

The story follows as such: born in St. Louis, Missouri to a poor family, Josephine was

awestruck by the performance life and loved to dance. She worked along with her family, dancing in her spare time and putting on performances with other children on box crates. Eventually, she joined a rat-tag trio called the Jones family, who performed on the street for spare change. Making enough of a name for themself, the Jones family was asked to be the opening act for vaudeville troupe, the Dixie Steppers. The troupe was impressed by Josephine's performance that they asked her to join them, to which she agreed, and left for New Orleans with them. However, the stage found no use for her and she was left behind by them in New Orleans but she stowed away. After finding her in their belongings, they had no choice but to convince the director to let her join them.

After performing with them for a while, the troupe disbanded, leaving Josephine to explore. She found out about Shuffle Along, the first all-black show on Broadway. She auditioned, with no luck, and instead found work backstage as a dresser. She still learned every song and dance, hoping for a chance, and it did when one of the dancers was out sick. She managed to captivate audiences and keep the part. After finishing work with Shuffle, she found work at a club, singing, and dancing, eventually catching the sight of a white aristocrat, who asked her to perform in Paris. Unable to turn down the dazzling offer, Josephine boarded a ship and was off to Paris.

There she was able to perform and gain monumental success. Suddenly, her name was everywhere, in dazzling lights on billboards. She went on to tour parts of Europe and make international fame. However, she had yet to return to America and perform. Although she tried her hardest, the audiences and reviews were nothing like Europe. Nonetheless, she continued her performances in Europe. She served in the army with the Red Cross during WWII.

Eventually, she decided to start a family with her husband at the time, by adopting 12 children. Her children, the Rainbow Tribe as she liked to call them, were all children of different races and countries. She chose to raise each child practicing the religion of their home country. She hoped to show that people of all races could be a family. At this time she also stopped performing, focusing on her children. However, she ran into financial troubles while raising her children in a life of luxury. Finding no other plausible solution, she decided to return to the stage. Fame and fortune follow her again, allowing for her to provide for her family and return to other love - the stage. Performing late into her life, she eventually passed peacefully in her sleep at age 68.

As a child, she lived through the fears of living in southern America where black people were lynched, mobbed, and beat in broad daylight. She watched people flee their homes for safety. She lived in poverty and dropped out of school. Everything was separated by race. She could only perform in colored clubs and theaters. She was often deemed too dark for work. Even at the height of her European fame, when she performed in America, she was forced to abide by the rules of race laws; "she became the first and only negro Follies star ever, and yet she had to enter her hotel through the servant's entrance”. Part of the reason why she loved Paris was because there was no segregation at this time. “We were welcomed, we couldn’t believe it. Were the French color blind?”.

She was also hugely involved in the civil rights movement, using her name as power to gain influence. Everyone knew Josephine Baker and if she had something to say, they had no choice but to listen. She often fought to perform in desegregated audiences in the US and would file complaints of racism against clubs she was denied entrance or the opportunity to perform. She became such a prominent figure that she was able to give a speech at the March on Washington rally, alongside Martin Luther King Jr.

Books like Josephine can help children, especially black children understand their past, the history of segregation, and how many activists like Josephine dealt with their circumstances and overcame them. It teaches them that despite there being literal laws that practically made being a colored person illegal, people were able to change their lives and be famous. Young girls can look up to Josephine’s life of overcoming hurdles of rejection and feel motivated by her.