Pariset never seen anything like it it wasnt ballet or burlesque and it wasnt tribal dance either it was the spirit of an era. The spirit of laughter desire and freedom that took the french capital by storm in the 1920 s. Josephine baker dazzled white audiences with her uninhibited performances. But behind her exuberance lay troubled memories of a childhood marked by poverty and abuse. The searing sting of segregation and entrenched racism on the other side of the atlantic i i i i. I. I i i it would take 40 years until she felt this burden lifted. I gone with the feathers the sequins and glitter it was in military dress that she participated in a defining moment in the American Civil Rights movement i want. That this is the happiest day of my and i like i just said the baker put her global celebrity to use as a champion of racial equality this is the story of the worlds 1st black superstar. Dancing to stay alive dancing to forget the harsh missouri winters. With dance steps passed down through generations of slaves moves that would stay with josephine throughout her life. Josephine was just 7 when her mother put her into Domestic Service in the white homes of st louis. Not one of her many mistresses treated her like a human being. But josephine grit her teeth and carried on until an incident she would never forget. I let the dish water boil too long and the plates got broken. Mistress was so angry that she pushed my hands into the boiling water. I screamed. I prayed to god please let me die im too miserable. Josephine fled just 13 she joined a travelling thought bill troupe her mother didnt stop or saying if shes chosen her life let her go. Just to make a growing up in st Louis Missouri was tough it was not a easy place to be although coming out of the civil war was on the right side it was a union city it was a very tough and very segregated place and black folks were kind of pushed in certain parts of the city it was very poor they their opportunities were not great there was a course of burgeoning black middle class a baker did not belong to that and she endured a lot of you know tragedies abuses she marry young twice and so she was willing to take risks that others would not. Josephine reached for the stars and soon her journey landed her in new york city. At the time the citys music halls were cautiously opening up to africanamerican entertainers and curious white patrons had begun venturing into black harlem to enjoy the shows josephine knew that this was the audience she had to win over but in their eagerness to please this new clientele producers only cast light skinned chorus girls josephine was too short too skinny and too dark she was hired as a dresser instead but within just a few weeks she ended up on stage after all. She quickly drew attention as the comic turned at the end of the line crossing her eyes grimacing and flailing her limbs about. Audiences roared with laughter and came back night after night just to see her. One night a white woman was waiting to see me after the show she was a producer recruiting for an all black show in paris and she wanted to sign me out. Josephine knew that this was her big chance but suddenly she was gripped by a rare bout of insecurity and. I stayed in my cabin the whole day i was so afraid afraid of the ocean afraid of europe afraid of the unknown. Whispered to me dont be scared you see people in paris dont care about our color and he was right. I was amazed to be treated as an equal by whites and to be able to mingle with. Everywhere we were greeted with a smile now thats what they did its. Josephine instantly fell in love with paris the cafe culture of the wide avenues bustling with traffic and lovers kissing openly in public. But soon it looked like her parisian adventure would end before it had even begun. The shows organizers were worried that love they view neko was too american too prudish and didnt live up to its promise of a cabaret billed as the wildness of africa. With only 3 days left to come up with a show saving idea all eyes turn to josephine. Of all the members of the troupe she was the funniest sexiest and boldest. She was designated the star and would end up dancing topless and want to hurt a sight limb reach an audience surely wouldnt forget. Critics artists and high society all filed in on opening night. For Josephine Baker the moment of truth had arrived if she could win them over success was within reach. Lights out curtains up for a rising star. Blinded by the blazing speeds like. Possessed by some kind of devil i improvise i was still bound by the music driven one. Back in theater packs to the doors even my teeth and asked me before with every leap i seemed to touch the sky and when i returned to earth it felt like it was mine alone should teach mosquitoes and all that it was like she was a u. F. O. Look and she landed and did things that were in no manual just as she obeyed none of the rules to those girls with us only there was something liberating about the way she danced the charleston illinois well it was as if her body had a will of its own the way she twisted her legs her eyes bouncing around like lottery balls and peter it was out of this world was just sitting at the edge of. 2 2 5 weather as the clown or the seductress the native or the american. Josephine became the talk of paris. She did vented her own style playing on the audiences fantasies about africa and black women. I. The show was a child but opinion was divided. While culturally conservative critics perceive josephine as a symbol of decadence of the liberal and of on guard reception drew her as the heroine of a much needed european artistic revival. And collective press clippings they were my 1st french lessons she brings the breath of the jungle up imo strength and beauty to the tired stages of western civilization better still she is the black venus who haunted bunton there but also on a more cruel note level of you nag is nothing more than lamentable transatlantic exhibitionism thats. This back to the ape in less time than meet the syndic from that. Conservative circles were alarmed by the success of the review nica they viewed it as a danger to moral decency and believe the french were better off visiting the colonial exhibition a display of the diverse cultures of frances colonial possessions there at least every one was where they belong black africans and replica villages with white visitors strutting through like colonial masters. Young africans were even made to dive into fountains to retrieve coins tossed in by visitors. Josephine was well aware that she too was being cast as a savage but she played the role on her own terms. Wearing nothing more than a belt of bananas the ultimate racist symbol she played on viewers fantasies about africa seducing them into believing her fabrication. For the futile said josephine of all kinds of fantasies was positive and negative and your thought at the time most men of the bush was he surely fantasized about her and even experienced what it was like to live with a negro woman has only been watching the guys this fascination was unhealthy but also positive in the sense that those that saw josephine on stage and meyers are freedoms even if that wasnt what they called it loosen. Up it all back on assassin killed so can i call sentence youre saying others were glad that it confirmed their belief sides of the negro was sort of a strange animal that did strange things such as stripping naked for the short speech that kiss between so the back of the intellectuals intellectualizing today and the grateful audience applauded there was something for everyone. Today. Artists and writers adored this dancer who broke all taboos with charm and wit the belgian writers or simoneau and became josephine secretary and her lover a stylist they dressed her Ernest Hemingway frequented her new show called let wrote letters to her. She was a muse for modernist luminaries like call their fund dong and and picasso who called her the never t. T. Of now. Sophisticated and impulsive her temperament fit perfectly with the Roaring Twenties a time of giddy excess. Of distraction to forget the loss of loved ones of fathers brothers and lovers never return home from the war. Why. 7 settle for their capacity to the Roaring Twenties more to rip roaring at all its just people had just emerged from a war and mistook this post war hysteria for freedom. Josephine burst onto the scene and put her past her psyche on the lines while everyone else was trying to forget her. But she was after Something Else that she wanted to forget and so she could move forward now toward his old toys or to be the people continue to. Move and. I was in a new hotel in the rue de baets a charming might do the chambermaid was white the porter who delivered my breakfast so light they took care of my every need as i lounged on my white pillows after all those years of working as a maid for wife. It was absolutely an overwhelming experience for france becomes a citadel a refuge for African Americans and shes like come the what the waters warm here leave that cold water over there and come here where you will be welcomed you dont have to deal with these sorts of things and so again. Allows the french to have a certain idea pumped up sense of themselves with respect to Race Relations thats mythic in bakers mind and certainly in bakers world and what she represented it was very much. Needed. For success was phenomenal. To shoulder it josephine needed support and ally. She found one in pepito up by tino an italian entrepreneur who went by the name of count of a tino he had blair in business ach human. Josephine made him her manager and her lover. The peto sense josephines appeal to a female market he saw her as the ideal role model for french women fighting for greater equality. With their burnished skin and supple silhouette josephine was the very embodiment of emancipation. Pepito launched a brand of Beauty Products bearing her name skin darkening lotion called bakers skin and baker fixed brylin team for women seeking to mimic her glossy cropped hair the line was an instant success in paris and beyond there was an insatiable appetite for all things Josephine Baker. Nothing could stop la baker as the french had named her she started singing even at the opera performed classical dance and launched an acting career. That was modern history you know. The woman i was you know taking taking the city taking to the street being in night clubs dancing normally and wont play bursting into song and then she. Learned the nakedness was wonderful but she also became a fashion icon. Josephine was in demand across europe. She set off on tour. For almost 2 years she travelled from germany to romania sweeping to italy. Everywhere crowds flocked to see the dancer who defied the constraints of convention. She received thousands of love letters and hundreds of marriage proposals the devotion she inspired was almost overwhelming. She didnt want us to be thinking about the drama over what it meant to be the 1st International Black so i think she wanted us to see it as a divine comedy. Of comedy to fight the disappointments. Such as the fact that not one of the white men she had loved since arriving in france had proposed to her. Josephines love life mirrored the role she played in movies. Men had fun with her but marriage was out of the question. She responded in her typical style in a song with a smile. If you think this long. To much long long. Family. Was it never her all favored very long nola was. The mom her mom. Or maybe just. Maybe it was. All these years. Life in europe wasnt perfect but this is where josephine took destiny into her own hands she became a leading figure in the Entertainment Industry discovered the power of being a star. But after 11 years she longed to return home to settle the score and show americans what she was made of. I saw a black girl waiting on the wharf had they come to see me we disembarked all the black folk crowd at the gangway time realized then that they were porters chauffeurs mates waiting for their employers i wanted to laugh at myself. At the hotel things got worse a suite for miss baker the receptionist eyed me suspiciously there must be a mistake my manager protested but they just repeated this there must be a mistake. That was it nothing could be done in the eyes of the receptionist i was just a negress. From one hotel to the next the same frosty smile the same shrug of the shoulders the same outright refusal apology. Josephine had hoped that the success she did cheat in europe would shield her from racism in the us. But it didnt after her opening on broadway scathing reviews showed critics couldnt see beyond the color of her skin. She thought she was coming back as a star of a major broadway show say fell follies and she assumed that she would try up with critics as well as with audiences and when the show opened the reviews were patronising to contemptuous basically the tone was were trying to be tolerant about it but who is this little negress you know who left some time ago as a tiny little player in the theater and then mysteriously achieved all this fame in paris. Theater and humiliated josephine returned paris. Back and i got kind of sad that if you back you there with you did not do anything to me if you keep up if you back was. Bad. Was it with my bag or theyve got that and they kept on the camera very much i thought it was like getting out of the run with a family imagining that question that maybe they could profit. But her enthusiasm was a performance. She was glad to be back in paris but her heart was filled with sorrow. Peter who had died suddenly was she was away. For 10 years he had been by her side her companion manager part. Without him. She would have to reorder a line. Darling colette said to me dont be for lauren the french language has such sweet words like the word for law and so i went to gallows and cocktails i was a patron here chairwoman there. Thats when i met. A businessman he was young and rich women and dorrit him but he only had eyes for me it was flattering we got married i became mad and johnny on i had a french passport and i was expecting a baby id no longer felt for him. Even. It was like a dream come true josephine had married a very detailed prince at 1st she loved the role of my dom joly on but she quickly tired of it she was a free woman not a housewife. After a miscarriage she decided this wasnt the life she wanted she divorced and returned to the stage. Of the performance alone was no longer fulfilling. Josephine wanted to give her life a deeper meaning she found it in the resistance against nazi occupation. That. Get up at 3. Role model to live on a leave of their going to do a job although i asked for only one thing it is to serve the country to which i am eternally grateful that france made me what i am accepting unconditionally i was ready to give her my life. The war gave josephine the opportunity to serve a greater cause she became a spy for the French Resistance frequently risking her life. While on tour across europe she eavesdropped and flirted with high ranking officials to gather Sensitive Information which she concealed in invisible ink on her sheet music. And with it the many levels. Seen a biker evil but hes very very. Cool it can help to be Josephine Baker the customs officers asked for my papers but all they wanted was autographs i was able to pass on the plans out and gives. She was protected by her fame wherever she went she introduced the manager side as her assistant shock up to a fellow intelligence agent for the resistance. For Undercover Missions showed the world what she was made up. 7 behind the star was a fearless fighter. One american soldiers landed in morocco in november 1942 josephine was already there working for the resistance. A perfect symbol of the franco American Alliance she sang to the troops to boost them around. Half. C for everything. 7 from iraq 0 to syria josephine perform for black and white americans europeans and for arabs. She dreamed of a better unified world after the ultimate defeat of the nazis. I was leading and i did it to hear it i could. I get it. Thank. God. I just had been returned from the war a decorated heroine of the French Resistance. She married the conductors job we all but shortly after accepted an invitation to sing in the United States she was sure that after having defeated the nazis her country of birth would it last be able to face down its racist demons. But when she arrived in new york she saw that nothing had changed. Once again hotels refused her room. She and her white husband they were told might have been the guests from the south. So i decided to leave. If a star like me was treated that way in new york i hated to think what could happen down south i made up my mind to look the beast in the eye. I planned my trip well i wouldnt travel as Josephine Baker the french star i wanted to be a simple black american and ordinary news brown i found the name amusing. Everywhere and glance. There were 2 of everything 2 waiting lounges 2 coffee shops 2 restaurant. I went into the coffee shop with a sign saying. As i passed the table everyone stared at me 2 sandwiches please i asked the waitress quickly handed me my sandwiches and took my money as if trying to get rid of me. Then i went into the black folks coffee shop. I expected at least to see an approving smile and a knowing glance not a chance. All i got was scowling disapproving faces some people even looked horrified. We cannot at all underestimate the risk when she did take to that there were a lot of people who would have done that. But the problem again is shes Josephine Baker sheens going into an establishment in a segregated establishment you know thumbing her nose at customs many social customs and certain parts of the south that has simply been accepted as that is the way its going to be its not going to change and you know black folks know their place and here she comes giving them ideas about the moving out of their place and then she goes and i mean. That the problem was she going to stay and fight but she going to deal with the aftermath the repercussions of her actions therein lies the critique on the one hand there was fierce pride that she had made it and on the other hand there was a great deal of criticism because only she had made it and so she did not necessarily open doors. Critics from the ranks of the Civil Rights Movement denounced josephine saying that after 20 years away she had no idea about the life of africanamerican. Now she began to realize how her fame had shielded her from the brutality of segregation. And so she decided to put her celebrity to use once more this time for the Civil Rights Movement. In 1951 she returned to the u. S. To perform but this time she set out her conditions before crossing the atlantic. It was simple i wouldnt sing anywhere my people were not accepted i would only agree to come to the United States if black patrons were admitted. To my shins. Feeling certain the time was right to bring josephine back home the organizer agreed to all her terms. As you do. I it was written into her contract that any theater she played at had to let any Ticket Holder enter regardless of race color or creed her performance in miami was historic with black patrons admitted to an exclusive venue for the 1st time a triumph for desegregation the audience was in tears. The concert made headlines across the country at last josephine had found a way to use her success to support the fight for racial equality but i want to cut funding because i think you can find the abolition of the only things that make you know i know you can use to defend it if you dont. Want to get the moment but then an incident soured her sense of success. One evening she arrived with friends at the prestigious stork club in manhattan an hour after she placed her order she noticed that others around her were being served while service to her table had all but stopped. At 1st indications she was now infuriated and stormed out and she called her lawyer prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement. The next day activists picketed the. A club calling for its liquor and cabaret licenses to be revoked because of racial bias. The affair put josephine on the f. B. I. s radar its director j. Edgar hoover opened the file accusing her of communist times. It was a serious allegation josephine was put on the f. B. I. Watch list. She left for latin america where she publicly condemned her countrys racial policies. In response the f. B. I. Piled pressure on the latin american countries in which she was scheduled to perform. One by one her concerts were cancelled and peru colombia cuba and haiti. Barred from reengineering the us she was devastated. I had done my best during the war to fight the nazis and their racist policies but i saw the same attitude just as insidious just as ugly in those who had opposed the nazis. So i went back to france since before the war the place i felt most at home was at my chateau in dalton. For more than 30 years the french had a company josephine on her journey they revered her as a dancer singer and actress and honored her as a heroine of the resistance. She was awarded the legion of honor at her chateau. Youre going up there was a lot i still say that all the details thank you dick. Was. So nice. And yet something was still missing she yearned to be loved in her homeland where she was still refused entry. But in the us times were slowly changing a young minister Martin Luther king was leading the Civil Rights Movement in august 1963 he called on people of all color to join the march on washington to protest segregation. Josephine had achieved what no other black woman before her had and Martin Luther king wanted her to be there. With the help of attorney general Robert Kennedy just a pain was allowed to return she was the only woman to speak at the march. Yet the 5. 0. Point one. Josephine this major event that we now know was mostly organized by male civil rights leaders the women who were involved pushed to the side thats a parenthesis but it matters josefina rhymes like an emissary. From abroad and that International Aspect is not to be a little and she is wearing a miss sex symbol the glamour of jade the girl as she is wearing the uniform of the Free French Army and she didnt have to come you know the just the fact that she flew across the atlantic not for her career but to link generations of black achievement of black entertainment and of black struggle. Was absolutely thrilling. Until the march on washington every time i went to the states my stomach was in knots for the 1st time i returned to france with a sense of freedom. My struggle had been right i went to washington to pass on the tour to those who want to listen. So that they could have the same chances i had without having to run away now that my message had been heard i could leave. Josephine baker became the 1st International Black star. But in a foreign country left to her own devices her battle against racism had been a lonely one. In her final years her fight for justice resonated with the world finally ready for change. Purse was a stork journey both on and off the stage. I. Dont let my now. I have read about why. You never. Let my mouth off. Because i need to matter now im having an affair he called me and i said to do but it will. Do. My. Thang. Well that would be. A lovely name long meet. Live love take that money. That way and a lot. Was. A 1. 00 a watch. Cards lawyer. Car culture. Car hair. Superman. Superfood stylish starlight car on the stove let os. Life style your a. New home a. 30 minute strong delusion. Board. Every 2 seconds a person is forced to flee their home. The consequences have been disastrous our documentary series displaced depicts dramatic humanitarian crises from around the world to. Fuck a thing we dont have i met i didnt go to university to kill people i thought if i acted that way i mean a lot of people fear for their lives and their future so they seek refuge abroad but what will become of the horse who stay behind its a way out battle my husband went to peru because of the crisis that i wondered if he hadnt gone there we would have died of hunger and when i want to down. Displaced stores for nearly 15. News live from iraqi militias are staging a huge percent for the iranian general and a local militia men killed by a u. S. Drone strike tens of thousands are gathering in baghdad for the funeral march as tensions between iran and the u. S. Spy tehran has vowed revenge for the death of general qassam solomonic. Calls of 3000 reservists to help deal with the devastating wildfire forecasters are warning of more high winds in sport