Essay about Josephine Baker - 2425 Words

Josephine Baker 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†¦show more content†¦While still in elementary school, she began dancing part-time in a local chorus line. She left home at the age of 13; waiting tables most of the time and working on stage whenever possible. She joined a group of street musicians who called thems elves the Jones Family Band. The work with the Band paid off when Baker acquired her first stage appearance at the Booker T. Washington Theater, St. Louiss black vaudeville house. Also appearing was the all-black dance troupe, the Dixie Steppers. The manager of the Dixie Steppers took a liking to Baker and decided to make her part of the group. Since he couldnt find anything for her to do onstage, she became a dresser, principally for the troupes star, Clara Baker.# By 1920, she was married, divorced and married again - the second time to Willie Baker, a Pullman porter, from whom Baker took the name she used on stage. In April 1921, while the Dixie Steppers were touring in Philadelphia, one of the chorus girls hurt herself. For nearly a year, Ms. Baker had been studying the choreography of the show and practicing the steps behind the scenes. Another dancer was aware of Bakers abilities and suggested she fill in for the injured chorus girl. Ms. Baker took her place in the c horus line. Because she was much more lively and animated, she stood out from the rest of the ladies, which, obviously, is not the point of a chorus line. When the lyricist/composer team of Nobel SissleShow MoreRelated The Josephine Baker Story Essay1142 Words   |  5 Pages Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine Carson in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906 to washerwoman, Carrie McDonald, and vaudeville drummer, Eddie Carson. Josephines father abandoned them shortly after her birth and her mother married a kind but perpetually unemployed man named Arthur Martin. Their family came to include a son and two more daughters. Josephine grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families until she got a job waitressing at The Old Chauffeurs Club whenRead MoreEssay about A Biography of Josephine Baker726 Words   |  3 PagesA Biography of Josephine Baker 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.Read More Josephine Baker: A Breakthrough Starlet of the 1920s599 Words   |  2 Pagesstarlet of the 1920s was and they will all say the beautiful and talented Josephine Baker. Josephine was known by many names, Freda Josephine McDonald her birth name, Josephine Baker her stage name, as well as â€Å"Black Venus†, â€Å"Black Pearl† and Creole Goddess (Louck The Official Josephine Baker Website). No matter whom Josephine was known as this does not distinguish the amount of work succeeded by Baker. Josephine Bake r was an African American who broke free from racial offense by playing an importantRead More Josephine Bakers Monologue Essays664 Words   |  3 PagesJosephine Bakers Monologue 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 â€Å"be sure not to kiss the baby†. When I was 13, I got a waitressingRead MoreHarlem, New York552 Words   |  2 PagesOne sensational woman stood out among the rest, her name was Josephine Baker. She took a stand and fought for what she believed in, she was a strong and passionate women and she never let anyone get in the way of the things she loved to do. No matter how risquà © or dangerous it may have been. On June 3rd, 1906 Freda Josephine McDonald was born to a washerwoman, Carrie McDonald and a Vanderville drummer Eddie Carson. Shortly after Josephine was born her Father abandoned their family and her Mother remarriedRead MoreWomen s Suffrage For Josephine Baker By Adolf Loos1133 Words   |  5 PagesHow are women represented in House for Josephine Baker by Adolf Loos? Introduction Feminism and the women s right movement occurs in waves. Women’s awareness of their plight as second class citizens began first with first-wave feminism. This began with women’s fight for the right to vote in 1867 in the UK and the right was won in 1918. This is known as the Suffragette movement. Second-wave feminism was characterised by the women’s right to their bodies like reproductive rights and the legislationRead MoreAnalysis Of Josephine Baker, An Iconic African American Dancer, Singer, Actress And Civil Rights Activist1030 Words   |  5 PagesJosephine Baker was an iconic African-American dancer, singer, actress and civil rights activist. Her rise to fame included her erotic dancing, her comedic expressions and her risquà © sense of style. She was well known for her â€Å"Danse Sauvage† and her most famous â€Å"Banana skirt dance†. She was a unique artist that differed from the rest. With that being said, I would like to focus the main a spect of this paper on her originality of tackling racial stereotypes through performing, her unique sense ofRead MoreWomen, Cultural Appropriation, Racial And Gender Differences, And African Americans Essay1506 Words   |  7 Pagesclass, I wanted to take my research further. I decided to research female foreign performers who have had a major influence on the Jazz Age in Paris. I decided to focus specifically on three foreign females, and they are: singer and dancer Josephine Baker, dancer Molly Spotted Elk, and dancer Ada â€Å"Bricktop† Smith. Each of these female performers had a large impact on taking the Jazz Age in Paris to another level. African Americans were responsible for bringing jazz music to Europe. Due to theRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance, By Gwendolyn Bennett, Walter White, And Palmer Hayden1444 Words   |  6 PagesGwendolyn Bennett, Josephine Baker, Walter White, and Palmer Hayden are some of the many people who influenced the Harlem Renaissance that are idols to those around them, excellent at what they do, and influenced many people to believe that they could do anything they put their heart into. The Harlem Renaissance, was part of the larger New Negro cultural and intelligent movement of the 1920s, remains one of the most studied and popular periods of American and African American literary and culturalRead MoreEssay on Hip Hop Dance979 Words   |  4 Pageshtm. Josephine Baker Biography. Bio.com. AE Networks Television, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014. http://www.biography.com/people/josephine-baker-9195959?page=2. Josephine Baker: The Activist Entertainer. Perf. Josephine Baker. Josephine Baker: The Activist Entertainer. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014. http://www.biography.com/people/josephine-baker-9195959/videos/josephine-baker-the-activist-entertainer-13827651674. The Official Josephine Baker Website. The Official Josephine Baker Website.