civil rights

Josephine Baker is most known for being a glamorous showgirl who wore her famous banana skirt in 1920s and ’30s.But she was so much more! As a child she survived the Red Summer and the East St. Louis Massacre in 1917 and poverty to dazzle audience from NYC to Paris. During WWII, she was a spy, a volunteer nurse and a pilot for the Red Cross, reached the level of lieutenant and won the Croix de Guerre for her part in the French resistance. She worked tirelessly for civil rights and was the only female speaker at the March on Washington in 1963. Josephine was an entertainer, civil rights activist, war hero and mother who never lost her courage or sense of humor.