Born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker spent her youth in poverty before learning to dance and finding success on Broadway. Josephine was apart of the first black musical in New York. She took her stand against racism when she, refused to perform for segregated audiences and devoted the rest of her life to the civil right movement. Baker became famous for her theatrical performances, but she devoted her life to the idea that people of all nationalities can live peacefully together.
Lafayette Curry Baker Was born on October thirteenth, 1826. Little was known about his early years, but it is know that his family moved to Michigan when we was a young child but left home at about 22 in 1848. He has done many jobs in the West. He even tried his luck during the gold rush. He later did not find much success in prospecting, so he turned to other pursuits. He remained in California until he was about 35 (1861), but with news of the burning rebellion, he rushed back East to see if he could secure a spot in the Union army. He joined the San Francisco Vigilance Committee which took control of the government in an effort to stop crime. Baker took part in many lynchings (hangings) during his vigilance committee period. Lafayette was asked to take a position in the San Francisco Police Force after the committee was dissolved.
Josephine Baker was born on June 3,1906 and she had received over 1,000 marriage proposals and love letters because she was always out in front of a crowd dancing and many men not only loved to see her perform but they also loved her body. Josephine Baker was also an amazing person because she was one of the few women who was was apart of the French Resistance. Josephine Baker and one of her four adopted 12 children and their goal was to create the rainbow tribe and experiment. Many people loved Josephine Baker and the way she danced especially men. Josephine was always out dancing somewhere in a crowd and most of the crowd was full of men.
Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine MacDonald in St. Louis, Missouri to her unwed parents: Carrie McDonald and Eddie Carson. Her father soon left the family and Josephine had to help her mother support herself and her three younger half-siblings. At age eight, she got a job working as a maid for a white family (Robinson). At age 12, she had dropped out of school to work. By age 14, she had moved out, been married, and separated from her first husband. She would later go onto marry and divorce three more men. Never was she financially dependent on any man, including her husbands.
Shirley Chisholm, first African American woman to be elected to Congress was born in Brooklyn on November 30, 1924. She is one of the most profound and admired women that challenged society not only as a woman, but a woman of color. She made many contributions to the women's movement and society.
Josephine did more than charm officials at parties for information. As an entertainer, Baker had an excuse for moving around Europe, visiting neutral nations such as Portugal, as well as some in South America. She carried information for transmission to England, about airfields, harbors, and German troop concentrations in the West of France, notes were written in invisible ink on Baker's sheet music. The first time Josephine went through airport security with her sheet music and passed with no complication, she let out a breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. Later, she and her entourage went to the French colonies in North Africa. The stated reason was Baker's health but the real reason was to continue helping the Resistance. From
Freda Josephine McDonald who was an activist, dancer, and singer was born on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. Josephine’s father Eddie Carson was a vaudeville drummer who abandoned Josephine and her mother Carrie who was a washerwoman who gave up her dreams of becoming a music-hall dancer shortly after birth. Lately after that Josephine mother later got remarried and had several children. When Josephine was eight years old to support her family she cleaned houses and babysat for wealthy white families often being poorly trearted. Just only two years later while in school she ran away from home at the age of thirteen and worked as a waitress at a club. After that she married a man named Willie Wells she meets there who she latered divorced only weeks later.
Give light and people will find the way, Said Ella Baker. She was a woman, who even in the darkest hour, gave light to people everywhere. Being a Civil Rights activist in the 1930’s, she was one of the leading figures in the Civil Rights Movement. She dedicated her life to fighting for freedom and equality, and she deserves to be recognized worldwide.
Singer. Born April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. (Though many biographical sources give her birth date as 1918, her birth certificate and school records show her to have been born a year earlier.) Often referred to as the "first lady of song," Fitzgerald enjoyed a career that stretched over six decades. With her lucid intonation and a range of three octaves, she became the preeminent jazz singer of her generation, recording over 2,000 songs, selling over 40 million albums, and winning 13 Grammy Awards, including one in 1967 for Lifetime Achievement.
She has risen from a poor background and was ranked the richest African American of the 20th Century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history and was once the world’s only black billionaire. She is also known as the most influential woman in the world, both older generations and young.
She was the starving musician, the jazz singer who did all she could to stay alive and still do what she loves. The dedication she displayed to jazz is not easy to explain. She was a perfectionist in her fashion, depending upon her excellent ear, unique voice and honesty and love for people to keep her love alive.
Josephine Baker reached the height of her fame during the 1920s, however, she still was not able to speak about her work and explain what her performances were trying to convey. This left the audience to decipher the performances for themselves, while doing so this highlighted the racism that was still apparent in France. In Phyllis Rose’s book ‘Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time’ She shows quotes from the tabloids saying, “We can’t find a way to tie the scenes together, but everything we’ve ever read flashes across our enchanted minds...glimpses of enormous steamboats swallowing clusters of Negros who carry rich burdens”. (Rose, 1991) The Parisians visiting Bakers show at the Revue Negre interpreted her show based on what they understood Africa to be. Baker was able to make a lasting impact with her unique look and style and was able to entertain crowds with her “rubber legs” (Rose, 1991) and “crossed eyes” (Rose, 1991) during a time in which racism was the norm. While “she did not exercise complete control over her own image” (Jules-Rosette 2007) she used the stage as a way of expressing herself which she could not do with her voice. In doing so Baker has influenced many performers today. Most notably she inspired Beyoncé Knowles.
She was able to overcome all that to become an important influence to many musicians like Neneh Cherry who believes that Billie holiday was a “role model, an innovator, and activist” (Griffin). But also a really strong black women because back then it was difficult for a “women who wasn’t white” to make it as far as she did (Griffin). Even though her songs were about abuse and sorrow, she didn’t want other musicians to copy her singing style, instead she wanted musicians to advance the “wisdom and spirituality of songs like Strange Fruit and God Bless the Child” because those two songs have meaning behind them like “Strange Fruit” that song was created by a “teacher named Abel Meeropol” and asked holiday if she could sing it. Holiday was scared
Ella Baker was a human rights activist that believes everyone was equal and fought for what she wanted.. Ella Baker was the most inspiring person to change color people’s lives. Did you know when Ella was six years old she hit a boy for calling her nigger?First, Ella was apart of the SCLC and the NAACP, through those organizations Ella was able to help many lives. Second, Ella helped the rise of M.L.K, she got no credit for the work she did with him. Colored women never got the rights they deserved in Ella’s life time.Finally,Ella inspired many people, Ella made people believe that everyone was equal.
Wells was on of the founding members of the NAACP. In 1930, Wells was disgusted by the nominees for the state legislature, so she decided to run for Illinois State Legislature. This made her one of the first black women to run for public office in the U.S. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. She was a person who never stopped believing in what she thought or knew was important to her and other people of her race and gender. She had to have a large amount of courage to do all that she has accomplished in her time, and this is why she is an important figure to the Harlem Renaissance.
During the 1960’s, Nina got involved with the current events – the civil rights fight – as an activist. Outraged by the events and her own struggles this led her to take action; She used her music to try to change society. Her music was often anthems for civil right movements - such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee - during the 1960s and 1970s. After almost 50 years of music, Nina Simone