[1/2] Joséphine Baker, from the Revue Nègre at the Panthéon

Music hall star, Parisian icon, resistance fighter, anti-racist activist: Joséphine Baker was all of this at the same time. Born in the United States, then undermined by segregation, it was in France that she flourished, and it was for France that she fought. In return, the grateful homeland opened the doors of its Pantheon to him. In a new story in two episodes enriched with archives, Virginie Girod tells you about her incredible journey.  

The eldest of four children, Joséphine grew up in a very poor home in Saint-Louis, Missouri. But she knows how to seize opportunities to get out of it. At 13, she managed to meet the boss of a theater and got hired. Here she is, autonomous. In New York, where Joséphine Baker found a job as a dresser in a cabaret, the young woman replaced a dancer at short notice and established herself on the stage.  

Spotted to participate in the “Revue nègre” which was staged at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the dancer arrived in Paris in 1925. The West was celebrating: it was the Roaring Twenties! André Daven, the director of the theater, demands that Joséphine dance topless. The latter only reluctantly accepts. The show was, however, a success, driven by the future star: the Ebony Venus was born. Paris falls under her spell as she performs one after the other. Joséphine's heart beats for Giuseppe Abatino, who becomes her impresario. It was he who made Joséphine Baker a singer and an international star. Only the United States rejects it. There, she was black before being an artist. Her adopted country is France more than ever, and soon, she will risk her life for him. 

Topics covered: music hall, Paris, United States, racism  

“At the heart of history” is a Europe 1 Studio podcast

- Presentation: Virginie Girod 

- Production: Caroline Garnier

- Director: Nicolas Gaspard

- Composition of the original music: Julien Tharaud 

- Writing and Distribution: Nathan Laporte

- Communication: Marie Corpet

- Visual: Sidonie Mangin

Archives

Joséphine Baker concert at L'Olympia, April 23, 1964. 

Archive, interview with Joséphine Baker broadcast on April 12, 1975. First broadcast date unknown.

Joséphine Baker enters the Pantheon, testimony of her son Brian Bouillon-Baker. November 30, 2021.

Resources

Gérard Bonal, Joséphine Baker, From the Music Hall to the Pantheon, Tallandier, 2021.