The Iconic Life Of The First Black Superstar
In a society that teaches us to trust women, it takes a certain kind of woman to trust herself
- Glennon Doyle
When we investigate the lives of iconic, infamous, and scandalous women, we are often taken aback by their actions. Why do we find these women’s lives so fascinating?
In a patriarchal society, women are socially engineered to be passive. To shrink ourselves and appease the intentions of others at our expense. Deviant women, that is women who did not agree to these social mores are vilified, castigated, and alienated. Simultaneously, these deviant women are also very fascinating not because of their scandalous love lives or extravagant lifestyles but because they have the audacity to live a life that feels most authentic to them.
In the words of Glennon Doyle “In a society that teaches us to trust women, it takes a certain kind of woman to trust herself”. There is a type of woman that engineers her own destiny and disregards the voices of others to undeniably follow her inner voice.
This kind of woman understands that the qualities that make “a good woman” are intended to disempower and undermine her. She decides to steer a path with no directions apart from those stemming from the depths of her soul. These women view their circumstances in life as secondary to their goals and ambitions.
At one time, the richest black woman to ever live, owner of the Château des Milandes in France, mother of 12 officially adopted children whom she aptly called her “rainbow tribe”, a spy for the french allied forces, civil right activist, and entertainer.
This is none other than Josephine Baker. Let’s take a closer look at her life.
Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, her life growing up was a far cry from the glitz and glamour of Paris. Both of her parents were entertainers that performed in the segregated midwest.
However, neither of their careers took off, forcing young Josephine to do odd jobs to survive. Her father eventually left the family after she was born leaving her penniless. She helped support her family by working as a maid and babysitter for white families that often treated her poorly. At the age of 13, she married a man named Willie Wells whom she met while bartending. She eventually divorced him weeks later.
Around this time She also lived as a street child in the slums of St. Louis, sleeping in cardboard shelters, scavenging for food in garbage cans, making a living with street-corner dancing. In 1919, she was touring the United States with the Jones Family Band and the Dixie Steppers performing comedic skits.
Two years later, she married Willie Baker and took on his last name despite divorcing him years later. It was during this time she began to see significant career success, and she continued to use his last name professionally for the rest of her life. Looking to parley some of her earlier success, she moved to New York City and performed in the chocolate Dandies in the plantation Club.
This was a pivotal time in history as it was also happening during the Harlem renaissance and she was about to make the most of it. Her career began with blackface comedy at local clubs. Coupled with her earlier success, these performances landed Baker an opportunity to tour in Paris
She would then go on to star in the La Revue Nègre where she danced nude with nothing but a pink flamingo feather skirt. It was something that had ever been seen before in early 20th century Paris. Her gyrating black body stood in sharp contrast to the straight poised stature of ballet. This catapulted her life into stardom. In her most defining stage act, she appeared on stage wearing only high heels and a skirt made of bananas in La Folie du Jour.
She began to get nicknames like “Black Venus” and “Black Pearl”. She also received more than 1,000 marriage proposals. Ernest Hemingway called her “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.” Pablo Picasso painted her, seeking to capture her alluring beauty, saying she had “legs of paradise.”
When she briefly returned to America to star in a Ziegfield Follies, hoping to establish herself as a performer in her home country as well. However, her last dance was considered controversial. It featured her dancing provocatively with 4 white men. She was met with a generally hostile, racist reaction.
Her movie Princesse Tam-Tam was banned outright because it showed her having a romance with a white leading man. In Time Magazine, she was referred to as a “buck toothed negro wench”. She quickly returned to France and married a French industrialist Jean Lion and obtained citizenship from the country that had embraced her as one of its own.
In 1939, France declared war on Nazi Germany for its invasion of Poland. Within nine months, the Nazis invaded France. Baker was recruited by the Deuxiéme Bureau, the French Military Intelligence, as an “honorable correspondent.” She was so well-known and popular that even the Nazis were hesitant to cause her harm. She made the perfect spy. As an entertainer, she had good excuses for traveling, which allowed her to smuggle secret orders and maps written in invisible ink on her musical sheets. On some occasions, Baker would smuggle secret photos of German military installations out of the enemy territory by pinning them to her underwear.
To operatives in the French Resistance as well as U.S. and British agents, she relayed information on German troop movements she had gleaned from conversations she overheard between officials with whom she mingled following her performances or at embassy and ministry parties. She also exposed French officials working for the Germans. She hid Jewish refugees and weapons in her 24-room château in the South of France.
Following the war, Baker spent most of her time at Les Milandes with her family. In 1947, she married French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon, and beginning in 1950 began to adopt babies from around the world. She officially adopted 12 children in all, creating what she referred to as her “rainbow tribe” and her “experiment in brotherhood.”
What can we learn about the life of Josephine Baker?
1. You Get To Define And Redefine Your Life
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
You get to create and recreate yourself as many times as possible. Josephine was a performer, activist, spy, and mother. You can live one life in multiple ways. Even her performances gradually changed over time. In the beginning, they were risque and provocative. However, as she matured they became more sophisticated and grandiose.
Give yourself the space the change and not be who more than who you currently are.
However, the challenge that people face when trying to change is that they would have to dispose of certain parts of themselves. Maybe you have always wanted to be a signer but instead went to Law School because it was safer. If you actively wanted to pursue music, you might need to give up not just the pay and comfort that comes with your current profession but also the identity that you have held on to. You would have to give up ideas that you have held true about yourself to make space for a greater individual.
Question: what identity have you held on to that you are finding hard to give up?
2. Make The Most Out Of Every Opportunity That You Are Given
Josephine was a master at seizing opportunity whenever they presented themselves. When the opportunity to go to Paris presented itself, she took it. She did not ask for permission or wait for anyone’s opinion of her. In fact, her mother was not particularly happy with her entertainment career. Josephine knew what she had to do and did it. She also focused on and honed her craft. This allowed her to ensure that every performance was spectacular
3. The Importance Of Individuality
In the modern age, conformity is expected. Unsurprisingly, this is due to our evolution. In prehistoric caveman times, being excommunicated from your tribe could mean life or death. This evolutionary hardwiring is still stuck in us today.
However, this previous survival mechanism could work against us in the modern age. In the vast array of internet content and personalities, trying to blend in is a death sentence.
Josephine Baker knew the importance of standing out early. In the Chocolate dandies, Josephine stood out in not only her performances not only because she was the darkest girl often on stage but also because of her comedic expressions. She allowed her unbridled charisma to shine through. This allowed her to quickly become a crowd favorite.
4. You Are Not Defined By Your Past
Josephine understood that he had to fundamentally create the future that she wanted for herself. The black pearl that stunned Paris was a far cry from the improved fatherless girl that grew up in Missouri. Even after being married and divorced twice in her teen years, Josephine understood fundamentally that her future was hers to create.
She was not deterred by the things of the past and decided to focus squarely on the life that she wanted to build for herself.
5. The Importance Of Understanding Culture
In her early shows, she knew that she had to dance naked in the show and she did it. During the show, half of the audience was shocked and left while the other stayed and encored. This show is what set the path for her meteoric success in Paris.
Josephine Baker essentially single-handedly exported the Harlem renaissance to Europe. She took advantage of two culturally significant moments in history: the Harlem renaissance: that was highlighting the creative and cultural experiences of African Americans in New York and the French cultural fascination with Africa. She understood this and capitalized on both movements.
In the book on Culture, creative works are both novel and useful. An artist needs to understand the cultural significance of the time in order to create something that is just novel enough that it intrigues the audience and does not frighten them. Josephine understood the cultural fascination of the time and took full advantage of it.
Further capitalizing off her fame, she began to write weekly columns in french newspapers. She was so captivating that her hair became an inspiration for women in France. Women were trying to get the Josephine Baker hairstyle. She quickly rose to become the most photographed woman in the world and the first black actor to star in an international film.
6. Change Is Important
At 19, Josephine understood that the cultural and political landscape in America would not have allowed her, a black woman, to succeed. So, she left for Paris. She event described herself in an interview as a “very frightened girl” when recollecting her move to Paris.
This should highlight the importance of change. If you are only sticking to what is familiar to you, you will miss out on a vast array of opportunities.
If you are hesitant about change, understand that it is part of our evolutionary hardwiring to avoid change. In the caveman era, going into a different part of the forest could be deadly. There could have been a jaguar or other harmful animals hiding in the bushes. We are hardwired to be pessimistic. However, we are no longer cavemen and should not allow the instincts that helped our ancestors to deter us.
7. Be An Advocate For Others
Just as Josephine used her influence to not only help the French allied forces during the war but also became a civil rights hero back in America. She used her influence to help the country that she loved and her other black people.
As life would have it, when she felt too hard times and could not afford to maintain her chateau, Princess Grace of Monaco got a house for her and her rainbow tribe.
Be an advocate for the causes you believe in and other people will step in to be an advocate for you.
Bonus:
Scandal is important:
A little bit of scandal is recommended, if not required, for meteoric success. After that first initial provocative dance, Josephine became the talk of Paris. It didn’t matter if they were talking good or bad about the dance, as long as they were talking.
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