“I ran away from home. I ran away from St. Louis, and then I ran away from the United States of America, because of that terror of discrimination, that horrible beast which paralyzes one's very soul and body.” - Josephine Baker
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Josephine Baker made her move to France in the 1920's, escaping from the immense racism in America. In 1925, Josephine Baker traveled to Paris to perform in La Revue Nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Baker became a hit immediately and the people of France quickly fell in love with her. The following year, at the Folies Bergère music hall, Baker danced in a skirt with only 16 bananas. The show became incredibly popular and Baker soon became one of the highest paid performers in Europe.
Unlike in the United States, France's society was less based on religion due to the French Revolution. This allowed people like Josephine Baker to freely express her racy was of life. |
“One day I realized I was living in a country where I was afraid to be black. It was only a country for white people. Not black. So I left. I had been suffocating in the United States... A lot of us left, not because we wanted to leave, but because we couldn't stand it anymore... I felt liberated in Paris."-Josephine Baker
“I wanted to get far away from those who believed in cruelty, so then I went to France, a land of true freedom, democracy, equality and fraternity.” - Josephine Baker
Treatment in the United States
In 1936, Baker returned to the United States to perform in the Ziegfield Follies. Baker faced racial discrimination in the United States. American audiences did not like the idea of a black woman with so much power. Newspapers such as the New York times called her a "Negro wench". Since Baker was mistreated in the United States, she decided to renounce her American citizenship and move permanently to Paris in 1937. In France Josephine Baker was able to start a family, discover more about her Family
“I wanted to get far away from those who believed in cruelty, so then I went to France, a land of true freedom, democracy, equality and fraternity.” - Josephine Baker
Treatment in the United States
In 1936, Baker returned to the United States to perform in the Ziegfield Follies. Baker faced racial discrimination in the United States. American audiences did not like the idea of a black woman with so much power. Newspapers such as the New York times called her a "Negro wench". Since Baker was mistreated in the United States, she decided to renounce her American citizenship and move permanently to Paris in 1937. In France Josephine Baker was able to start a family, discover more about her Family