Lily as Josephine Baker

My daughter as Josephine Baker: As a young girl Josephine Baker was serverly impacted by the violence of the race riots she witnessed in her hometown of St Louis, MO. Her ability to sing and dance led her to her joining a vaudeville troupe which brought her to New York City. Sensing limitations, she went to Paris to star in La Revue Negre and became the show's breakout star. She is the most famous for her risque banana dance. But as her popularity grew throughout France and the rest of Europe, she still remained concerned about the plight of Black people in America. She used her celebrity to demand that the venues in the US that she performed at were not segregated. She was one of the few women who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King. For her work as a spy in World War II, she was the first American woman awarded France's top military honors.

*Original photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images*

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Lily as Josephine Baker.jpeg

#josephinebaker #stlouis #dance #paris #bananadance #marchonwashington #martinlutherking #france #spy #blackandwhite

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