Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway adored her, now Emmanuel Macron is honoring the entertainer Josephine Baker with a place in the French Panthéon hall of fame.
On Monday, the French President announced in the news service Twitter: “She was American by birth and, with her struggles and engagements, chose France.
Josephine Baker upheld the French motto: “On November 30th, she will be admitted to the Panthéon in a solemn ceremony.
She is the first black woman to be honored in this way.
Michaela Wiegel
Political correspondent based in Paris.
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Above all, Macron wants to pay tribute to the commitment of the woman, who was born in Missouri in 1906, during the German occupation.
She appeared in front of French troops, became involved in the Red Cross after the surrender and participated in a network of the French resistance.
She later supported the Civil Rights Movement in America.
Baker died of a cerebral haemorrhage on April 12, 1975.
She was the first American woman to be buried with military honors.
The grave remains in Monaco
At the request of the family, she should not be reburied and her grave should remain in Monaco. A group around Baker's son Brian Bouillon-Baker had been campaigning for Baker to join the Panthéon since 2013. In mid-July, the group met Macron, as advocate and entrepreneur Jennifer Guesdon said. “When the president said yes, we were very happy,” she said. “She was an artist, the first black international star, a cubist muse, a resistance fighter in the French army during World War II, and active alongside Martin Luther King in the fight for civil rights, "reads a petition that called for Baker to move into the Panthéon and received 38,000 signatures. First the French newspaper “Le Parisien” reported on the decision.
An adviser to Macron confirmed that the ceremony for Baker's admission to the Panthéon will take place on November 30th. Baker had married Frenchman Jean Lion on the date, which gave her French citizenship.