Whispers in the Wings: Meet Josephine Baker, Dancer and Spy
Josephine Baker by Stanislaus Julian Walery, 1926, gelatin silver print, from the National Portrait Gallery
Josephine Baker (1906-1975), recognized today as an international superstar and an icon of the Jazz Age, was a woman of many talents. In addition to being a groundbreaking dancer, singer, and actress—even being the first Black woman to star in a motion picture—Baker was a World War II spy and a civil rights activist. Baker’s life and career, much of which were dedicated to fighting racial injustice across the United States and Europe, are a testament to the ways in which artists can use their platforms to advocate for social change.
Born into poverty in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker had a tumultuous childhood, working as a maid for wealthy white families at the age of eight and running away from home at thirteen. Nevertheless, Baker maintained big dreams of becoming a professional dancer and entertainer. In her early teenage years, Baker toured with a Vaudeville troupe before moving to New York City. There, Baker participated in the Harlem Renaissance, a celebration of Black art and culture that thrived in Harlem during the 1920s and ‘30s. After landing a job as a chorus girl in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along (1921), she quickly caught the public’s attention by adding her own comedic touches to the unison chorus girl role, for example by crossing her eyes or dancing out of rhythm. Celebrated for her uniqueness, Baker gained the admiration of many New York City professionals and was soon offered an opportunity to debut in Paris.
After just one performance, Baker became a sensation, bringing something entirely new and exciting to the Parisian performance scene. She utilized her whole body when she danced, often flicking her limbs and swaying her hips, movements which her white audiences were not accustomed to seeing on stage. In her most famous and controversial performance, Danse Sauvage (1926), Baker—in a shocking display of boldness—danced wearing only a pearl necklace and a skirt strung with 16 artificial bananas. Her performance played upon stereotypes about Black primitivism and the hyper sexualization of Black women that white audiences might have prescribed onto her. By physically stepping into the stereotypes and taking full agency of how they were enacted, Baker was able to subvert them.
Although famous in Europe, Baker was met with incredibly harsh reviews from American audiences who were uncomfortable seeing a Black woman with so much confidence and acclaim. Thus, in 1937, Baker decided to become a citizen of France, renouncing her American citizenship. Later, when the Nazis invaded France during World War II, Baker joined the French Resistance as a spy, using her celebrity status to acquire information about the movement of German troops. Baker also remained committed to fighting racism in the United States, refusing to perform for segregated audiences when she visited in the later 1950s and ‘60s. When Baker experienced racial discrimination upon being denied service at the prestigious Stork Club in New York City, her public criticism of the club was supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Baker was also invited to speak at the March on Washington in 1963, when over 200,000 people gathered for a massive protest in Washington D.C. to advocate for the economic and civil rights of Black Americans.
Josephine Baker led an inspiring life, full of artistry and activism. Her commitment to her craft and dedication to social justice remain a reminder to us all that the two pursuits are not opposed, but rather can work together in spirited and ever effective ways.