During the 1950s and 60s Baker spent time in America and became one of the most influential activist in the civil rights movement.
She refused to perform in venues that practiced segregation, sometimes turning down large amounts of money in order to stick to her principles.
Baker was refused service in the Stork Club in New York because of the color of her skin, which led to a media battle with famous pro-segregation columnist Walter Winchell
She was a witness to the East St. Louis riot in 1917. This event was often a feature of her talks in the 1950s and 1960s about racism and the fight for equality, which fostered the oft-repeated assertion that the family was resident in East St. Louis.
War Efforts
Baker worked for the Red Cross during the occupation of France in WWII. She also worked for the French Resistance, at times smuggling messages hidden in her sheet music and even in her underwear.
Josephine was awarded the Croix de Guerre, Légion d'Honneur and Rosette of the Résistance (translates to Cross of War and Legion of Honor rosette of the Resistance) for her heroic war efforts in France during World War II, showing her major Impact