Josephine Baker used her leverage as a performer to transform culture and politics in Europe and America. Baker, an African American woman, was born St Louis in 1906, and later she challenged discrimination and broke the gender binary through performance and political activism. Baker inspired change and fought discrimination in a variety of forms. In her lifetime she was a singer, dancer, spy, public speaker, and mother to many. “Each role also involved a costume change to accompany the new political image” (Jules-Rosette 215). All her roles served as a medium through which she combatted discrimination and fought for what she believed in. Baker gained leverage through her performance in France which allowed her to break the gender binary. …show more content…
Her dance incited people, gave them a will to bring justice and make change. On April 13 1929, Baker’s dances were prohibited in Yugoslavia. “In order to prevent any further demonstrations by the Croatian students the government today forbade any more performances at local theatres of Baker, Harlem negro dancer” (“Baker's Dances Forbidden”). It also stated that “Her semi-nude appearances aroused considerable public indignation” Baker’s presence ignited so much hope in people that she scared governments. She made political statements on stage and in the press. As she gained traction, Baker demanded that all her audiences be …show more content…
Her influence in dance and in culture is still alive today. The NAACP organized Baker day in her honor, in Harlem on May 20 1951. It was a day of tributes to Baker and all that she did, a day of music and culture. The effect she had on people was astounding. She changed the role of song and dance in culture, and of blacks in song and dance. Earlier in 1951, Baker was awarded the NAACP Outstanding Woman of the Year award. Even before her Rainbow Tribe- her vision of a racially utopian family come to life-, Baker was a war hero and fought for civil rights. Baker’s actions did not go unrecognized. She was a model for multiracial or multinational families. She set a precedent for people of different ethnicities and backgrounds to live together peacefully. She set a standard for
Many RnB singers rank among the highest paid celebrities in the world. This isn’t a surprise, as RnB and its various sub-genres have been leading the popular music charts for decades. Big voices and slick dance moves often translate into successful careers and big paychecks. Here is a list of the 10 richest RnB singers in the world, who have earned extensive success through their music, tours and other various ventures.
The history of The Black Civil Rights Movement in the United States is a fascinating account of a group of human beings, forcibly taken from their homeland, brought to a strange new continent, and forced to endure countless inhuman atrocities. Forced into a life of involuntary servitude to white slave owners, African Americans were to face an uphill battle for many years to come. Who would face that battle? To say the fight for black civil rights "was a grassroots movement of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things" would be an understatement. Countless people made it their life's work to see the progression of civil rights in America. People like W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, A Phillip Randolph, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many others contributed to the fight although it would take ordinary people as well to lead the way in the fight for civil rights. This paper will focus on two people whose intelligence and bravery influenced future generations of civil rights organizers and crusaders. Ida B.Wells and Mary Mcleod Bethune were two African American women whose tenacity and influence would define the term "ordinary to extraordinary".
Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz artist and artist musician with a vocation traversing almost thirty years. Nicknamed "Woman Day" by her companion and music accomplice Lester Young, Holiday affected jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, firmly propelled by jazz instrumentalists, spearheaded another method for controlling stating and rhythm. She was known for her vocal conveyance and improvisational aptitudes, which compensated for her restricted range and absence of formal music instruction. There were other jazz vocalists with equivalent ability, however Holiday had a voice that caught the consideration of her crowd.
Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917. When alled “The First Lady of Song” by some fans. She was known for having beautiful tone, extended range, and great intonation, and famous for her improvisational scat singing. Ella sang during the her most famous song was “A-tiscket A-tasket”. Fitzgerald sang in the period of swing, ballads, and bebop; she made some great albums with other great jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. She influenced countless American popular singers of the post-swing period and also international performers such as the singer Miriam Makeba. She didn’t really write any of her own songs. Instead she sang songs by other people in a new and great way. The main exception
Josephine Baker was an exceptional woman who never depended on a man. She never hesitated to leave a man when she felt good and ready. In her lifetime she accomplished many great things. She adopted 12 children, served France during World War II, and was an honorable correspondent for the French Resistance. She fought against fascism in Europe during World War II and racism in the United States. She grew up poor and left home at an early age and worked her way onto the stage. Baker was more popular in France than in the states. Audiences in America were racist towards Baker and that’s when she vowed she wouldn’t perform in a place that wasn’t integrated.
Her family ties to the south, her unique talent, her ability to travel and make money are similar to the Blues women movement that preceded her. It can be said that Nina Simone goes a step further the by directly attacking inequities pertaining to race and gender in her music. However, what distinguishes her is her unique musicianship and that is what ultimately garners her massive exposure and experiences than those of her past contemporaries. Like the Blues women Simone expands ideas pertaining to self-expression, identity and beauty as they relate to black women. She does this by embracing what is definitively African American and connecting that to a historical context. By doing so she is the embodiment of a political statement. Her journey which began like many entertaine...
In the time of Jim Crow, life was challenging for an African-American. Jim Crow laws were strongly implemented in Mississippi, one of many southern states to enforce these laws. These laws made it difficult for African-Americans to live and work. They were not fond of this way of life and wanted to mend it, but they endured ruthless consequences when they tried. For example, civil rights activist and NAACP worker Medgar Evers was murdered for trying to improve the conditions of black people in Mississippi. His assassination showed differences of how it was perceived in the black and white communities of Jackson, Mississippi. This incident served as a major historical event for the black community. For African-American maids, it was nothing to be talked about while in your white employer’s home. This event is important and marks the increase of racial tension in the streets of Mississippi. This event brought blacks uncontrollably bustling into the streets in sheer chaos and confus...
I believe this research paper to be a way to honor Davis for her efforts toward furthering justice for all people, no matter their gender or race. Angela Davis grew up surrounded by politically opinionated, educated, and successful family members who influenced her ideals and encouraged her development and ambition. Her father attended St. Augustine’s College, a historically black school in North Carolina (Davis 20). Her brother, Ben Davis, was a successful football player who was a member of teams such as the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions (Davis 23). Her mother, Sallye Davis, was substantially involved in the civil rights movement and was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Davis 42).
Ella Baker and Martin Luther King Jr. did have their similarities as leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, but there were vast differences as well. Their differences allowed the Civil Rights Movement to be more encompassing while fighting for the same cause. Baker and King both grew up in the South, had religious upbringings, had at least some level of a higher education, and were public speakers. What set them apart was their differing opinions on who contributed to social change, and how. This is expressed through the varying social classes they depended on, importance placed on reputations developed through public associations, and nonviolence tactics that used to fight for equality. Even though Baker and King had different methods in which
I’m Freda Josephine Baker born to Carrie McDonald and Eddie Carson on June 3rd, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri, but most of you may know me as Josephine Baker. At the age of 12 I dropped out of school to become an entertainer, yes yes, I remember it like it was yesterday, I was young and ready to become a star. I grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for white families, and they always reminded me “be sure not to kiss the baby”. When I was 13, I got a waitressing job at the Chauffeur’s Club, which was where I met my first husband, our marriage was very brief; I had never hesitated to leave anyone, never depended on any man for anything, that’s for sure.
(“The Official Site of Josephine Baker”) Baker was an example of a divide in the country between race, wealth, and gender. Many African Americans took it upon themselves to leave the United States in hopes of escaping a life of racism and segregation. As
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker was an African American woman who had to overcome discrimination and abuse in achieving her dream of becoming a singer and dancer. She did this during the 1920s, when African Americans faced great discrimination. She had a hard childhood. Her personal life was not easy to handle. Furthermore, she overcame poverty and racism to achieve her career dream.
Ella Baker was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1903. She always had strong opinions, and “followed her own mind”. However, she was influenced by her grandmother growing up, and this contributed to her sense of social justice and racism. Her grandmother, who had once been a slave, told her granddaughter stories of her own years in slavery. Her grandmother had been whipped for refusing to marry a man picked by her slave owner (SNCC). This story and others like it inspired Baker throughout her life, and led to many of the incredible things she did. Ella and her parents moved to Littleton, North Carolina when she was eight. Sadly, her father stayed behind for his job. The public schools for black children during this time were not sufficient. Her parents wanted to send her and her brother and sister to boarding schools. They both worked hard to acquire this. Finally, when Baker turned fifteen she was sent to Shaw University, in North Carolina (SNCC). Being the bright, intelligent student that she was, she had excellent grades, and was top in her class. She expressed an interest in being a medical missionary, but this would not have been realistic. After graduating in 1927 as valedictorian, Baker headed to New York City (Richman). She was quite brilliant and hoped to find some opportunities in New York that would help her do something worthwhile with her life.
While Jim Crow laws were reeking havoc on the lives of African Americans in the South, a massed exodus of Southern musicians, particularly from New Orleans, spread the seeds of Jazz as far north as New York City. A new genre of music produced fissures in the walls of racial discrimination thought to be impenetrable. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, "King" Oliver and Fletcher Henderson performed to the first desegregated audiences. Duke Ellington starred in the first primetime radio program to feature an African American artist. And a quirky little girl from Missouri conquered an entire country enthralled by her dark skin, curvaceous body and dynamic personality. Josephine Baker was more than a Jazz musician. She embodied the freedom and expressiveness of that which is known as Jazz.
Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: a Radical Democratic Vision. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2003. Print.