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How Did Josephine Baker Influence The Civil Rights Movement

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Why would someone return to a place where people mistreat them for their color? Surprisingly, this happened to Josephine Baker. Josephine Baker made an important and positive influence on the civil rights era. In the early 1900s, Baker moved to France to dance and sing, but she faced racism when she returned to the United States for a show (Biography.com 2). The racism she encountered during her performance influenced Josephine Baker to become an activist. Baker started to adopt kids around the world and called them the “Rainbow Tribe” (Trex 6). Baker created the “Rainbow Tribe” to change how people view different races can live together in harmony. This project of hers and much more made a positive influence during the civil rights movement …show more content…

She was a singer, spy, actress, dancer, French Resistance agent, and Civil Rights activist. According to the article Josephine Baker, Josephine was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906 (Britannica.com 1). This statement shows Josephine was born in a border state after the Jim Crow laws were enforced, and she faced racism in her daily life because of these laws. In Missouri, African- Americans were forced to live under the ideology of “separate, but equal”. This ideology was influenced by the decision made in the court case Plessy V. Ferguson in 1896. Jim Crow was formally introduced into the laws that did not enforce what they meant. African-Americans were treated as an inferior race, which caused them to become activists to attempt to overthrow these laws. Before her fame and wealth, McDonald grew up in a home with a very low source of income during The Jim Crow Era. Her mother, Carrie McDonald, was employed as a washerwoman. A washerwoman is a woman that washes clothes for others for pay. Her father, Eddie Carson, was employed as a vaudeville drummer. Baker lacked education due to living in poverty and working at a young age. She was also employed as a babysitter for wealthy white families as a child. When she was a teenager, she was employed as a waiter at The Old Chauffeur’s Club. McDonald first was married …show more content…

Baker influenced Civil Rights for society in a positive way by paving the way for African-Americans performers to perform in the U.S. in front of a white crowd, and she advocated for African-Americans to be in the crowd with whites in the theater. According to The Official Licensing Website of Josephine Baker, she made these changes by enforcing in her contract that she would not perform at theatres or venues that did not let all types of color patrons to pay to see her. When Josephine Baker returned to the U.S. for a show, she performed at Carnegie Hall in front of an interracial crowd and received an outstanding ovation (Cmgww.com 1). This statement shows us if Baker did not put her morals before money, African-American would not be able to watch performances in the same room with Caucasian people, and African-Americans would not be able to perform in front of Caucasians people without being afraid of their criticism. The author states, “and celebration of her as a ‘weapon in the holy war against racism’ (p 215)” (Boisseau 154). This quote shows Josephine’s positive acts made many people see her as a weapon against Jim Crow Laws. In addition, she influenced Civil Rights for society in a positive way by encouraging other civil rights leaders to keep up their work. In a letter written by Josephine Baker to Martin Luther King, she said, “We cannot stop now—on the contrary, we must double our

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