Josephine Baker: Artist and Activist
Friday, December 3, 2021
Emerson Performance Center, Harris-Stowe State University, 3031 Laclede Avenue
On November 30, 2021, the world-famous artist, activist, and humanist Josephine Baker (1906-1975), who was born in St. Louis, received one of France’s highest honors: re-burial at the Panthéon, the national monument for the country’s most distinguished citizens. In conjunction with this honor, “The Land on Which We Dance: Reclaiming the Spaces of Black Dance in St. Louis,” a Divided City Research Working Group, co-sponsored an event at Harris Stowe University to honor Ms. Baker in her hometown.
Ms. Baker was honored by France because she was an exceptional player in the Resistance against Nazi occupation in World War Two. An anti-racist activist, Josephine Baker will be the first black woman to be honored in the Parisian necropolis.
In partnership with The Griot Museum of Black History we celebrated Josephine Baker through dance performances by Heather Beal, Antonio Douthit-Boyd, Ashleyliane Dance Company, and the Best Dance and Talent Center.
CO-SPONSOR
The Griot Museum of Black History, located in St. Louis, Missouri, was founded in 1997. Originally named The Black World History Wax Museum, the organization changed its name to The Griot Museum of Black History in 2009. Address: 2505 St Louis Ave, St. Louis, MO 63106
Josephine's World 