Joséphine Baker

Joséphine BAKER

Diapo 1 : Today I'm going to introduce you to someone who I consider to be a hero. She is a singer, a dancer and an american actress. Her name is Josephine Baker.

Diapo 2 : Josephine Baker was born on 3 June 1906 in Saint-Louis, and died on 12 April in Paris.

She began her career as a cabaret dancer in New York, but it was in France that she was most successful as a member of "La Revue Nègre". She became a star in Paris thanks to her energetic and exotic performances. She was known for her sensual dancing, her charm and her unique style. One of her most famous numbers was the "danse de la banane", in which she wore a skirt of bananas. This number made her world famous.

Josephine Baker was also a fervent civil rights activist and used her celebrity to fight racism and injustice. She refused to perform in theatres that practised racial segregation.

She actively participated in the French Resistance as a spy during the Second World War and received numerous awards for her courage.

After her music-hall career, Joséphine Baker also became engaged in humanitarian causes and adopted twelve children of different origins to form her "rainbow tribe". This action symbolised her commitment to unity and diversity.

Diapo 3 : In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied France. During this period, France was divided into occupied and non-occupied zones. Under the Occupation, the Nazis and the Vichy government imposed an authoritarian, discriminatory and repressive regime. Jews, communists, Roma and other groups were persecuted. Many French people resisted the German occupation and collaboration, forming secret resistance movements. Jacques Abtey, head of counter-espionage in the Office of Secret Service , called on Joséphine Baker to join the resistance. She became a second lieutenant in the French Air Force.

Diapo 4: The artist became a spy. She was invited everywhere because she was the famous Parisian star you had to see at least once in your life, as she was immensely famous... Italians or Germans, the generals were curious to see this character. Her celebrity protected her from suspicion. She met the top officers. She collected information. The information was transcribed in code and in invisible ink on the musical partitions she always carried with her, and she attached photographs to her underwear. Customs officers and stationmasters only have eyes for the singer. They have no control over her.

The spy was invited all over Europe and passed confidential documents to Resistance contacts. The singer also gave concerts near the front for soldiers and civilians.

When the war was finished, she was decorated with the Resistance medal and the military Legion of Honour.

Diapo 5 : Joséphine Baker's engagement was not limited to her information missions. She hid resistance fighters and Jews in her castle of Milandes and was an ambassador for the General De Gaulle. She also used her great popularity to take action against racism, and became engaged in the civil rights movement. She joined the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) in 1938, and was with Martin Luther King during the 1963 civil rights march in Washington.

She

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