Josephine Baker Courageous Determined 1 Early life Josephine

Josephine Baker: Courageous & Determined 1

Early life ● ● Josephine Baker Born: June 3, 1906, as Freda Josephine Mc. Donald, St. Louis, Missouri Danced for spare change of passersby in St. Louis from a young age Married at age 15; ran away to Paris at age 17; felt too much racial discrimination in St. Louis 2

Accomplishments ● Worked as Red Cross nurse and as spy for French resistance during WWII ● Received Legion of Honor (highest award in France) in 1961 ● Spoke in 1963 March on Washington; told crowd they looked like “salt and pepper. Just what it should be. ” ● Stopped performing in 1968 due to financial difficulties ● Offered home by Grace Kelly (married to Prince Rainier of Monaco); performed at summer ball in Monaco in 1974 ● Performed in NYC “An Evening with Josephine Baker” in 1974 3

Banana Dance Josephine starred in La Folie du Jour at the Follies-Bergère Theater. Her jaw-dropping performance, including a costume of 16 bananas strung into a skirt, cemented her celebrity status. 4

Her Struggles ● Renounced American citizenship in 1937 ● Was accused by Senator John Mc. Carthy of being a Communist in 1950 s; was no longer welcome in United States ● Refused to perform in clubs that condoned racial segregation ● Married 5 times; adopted 12 children, known as Rainbow Children, of many nationalities with 4 th spouse; believed in equality for all and wanted to set example that children of all colors and nationalities could live and prosper together ● As her adoptive children aged, Baker ran out of money and was forced to sell Les Milandes. 5

Not Just a Performer Josephine had a strong sense of social interest which stemmed from her experiences in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up in a time where racism was prevalent and segregation was not yet abolished, Josephine endured acts of racism from a very early age. She cleaned house starting at the age of 8 years old and endured poor treatment. Although Josephine left for Paris at the young age of 19, her people and the events occurring in America never left her mind. Her experiences as a young girl made her strive for desegregation and she was a strong Civil Rights activist. Even after obtaining much success, Josephine refused to perform for segregated audiences upon her return to America making her gain even more respect from the NAACP. In 1951, she was named the Most Outstanding Woman of the Year by the NAACP for her efforts to gain equality for her people in America. She also adopted 12 children known as the “rainbow tribe” which exemplified that those of all races could indeed get along. "Salt and pepper. Just what it should be. " - Josephine, looking over the crowd at the 1963 March 6

Breaking Barriers A Josephine had a weak sense of masculine protest. Not only was Josephine a woman, she was also African-American which was a challenge in itself. Yet, the “constraints” of being a woman did not confine her in anyway. She was assertive and took care of herself as well as her family. Her achievements which made history are as followed: · Her initial break into show business came when she was featured in “Shuffle Along, ” Broadway's first Black musical, in 1921. · In 1925 it is estimated that Baker was possibly the highest paid chorus dancer in Vaudeville, which was no mean feat considering she was still only in her teens. · By 1927 she earned more than any entertainer in Europe The French government honored her with a 21 -gun salute, making Josephine Baker the first American woman buried in France with military honors. · "I'm not intimidated by anyone. Everyone is made with two arms, two legs, a stomach and a head. Just think about that. " 7

Artistically Inclined A Alder believed that career choice reflected personality. This hypothesis was tested and led to Holland’s Six Career Types. Josephine Baker would be classified as artistic. She was creative and was not afraid to push the envelope in her entertainment acts or her personal life. The characteristics of the artistic career type are as follows: Artistic • Likes to do creative activities like art, drama, crafts, dance, music, or creative writing; generally avoids highly ordered or repetitive activities; • Has good artistic abilities—in creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art; • Values the creative arts—like drama, music, art, or the works of creative writers; and • Sees self as expressive, original, and independent. (Feist, 2013, p. 96) "Art is an elastic sort of love. " 8

Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic views of Josephine Baker 9

Main Drives: Sex and Aggression * Josephine Baker was clearly seen as a sex symbol of her time. * Although she had no need to disguise her sex drives she also invested her libido on her pets and children she adopted showing both love and aggression drives. * aggression in reaction formation defense mechanism in this case was disguised as she rebelled against the prejudice of America due to the injustices she endured while in the US, she wanted to not only give love to unfortunate children but also show that men are created equal and could live as brothers regardless of race or religion. *Her childhood experiences led her to do the things she’s done and excel in her career life because she used these to her advantage. 10

The Id, ego and the Superego Although the ego must serve another master which is the external world in the case of Josephine Baker it may seem as the Id played a major role in her life. She married at age 13 and quickly divorced only to later marry and divorce several more times • *Danced half naked in her famous banana dance as well as “dance Sauvage” which is a shocking African style “mating dance” • She posed half naked, which in her times was not readily accepted, although the French loved her. • Her superego was not as strong as her ego and her id. ● ● According to Freud the Id is pleasure seeking and unconscious “its survival is dependent on secondary process (ego) to bring it into contact with the external world. While the Ego is conscious and is the decision-making of personality. • She did good things as well such as fight against racism- she would not perform in a place where there was segregation, she adopted 12 children, and welcomed exotic pets such as a cheetah and a pig, but even these are part of the id working through the ego and balancing out with the superego. Which allowed her to seem 11 more well adjusted than not but at the same time, eccentric.

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Was Josephine Baker a “self actualizer”? ● Maslow theorized that self actualizing individuals had their basic hierarchy of needs met and began to embrace what he described as 14 B-values. These are: ○ Humor ○ Effortlessness ○ Autonomy ○ Truth ○ Goodness ○ Beauty ○ Wholeness ○ Aliveness ○ Uniqueness ○ Perfection Josephine Baker perfectly expressed so ○ Completion many of these self-actualizing attributes that ○ Justice ○ Simplicity Maslow himself might have wanted to ask ○ Totality her a few questions. 13

Self actualizers are known to be naturally in tune with themselves and others around them. Accepting that people may be flawed, but embracing them anyway. Baker very much fits this characteristic as she was never afraid to walk down Parisian streets with her pet cheetah, nor was she afraid to take on a large group of children from different backgrounds and raise them in harmony. 14

Josephine Baker would be a very good candidate for a self actualizer because she was already centered on who she was, so she focused on helping the people around her. She presented a speech during the March on Washington in which she states, “I am not a young woman now, friends. My life is behind me. There is not too much fire burning inside me. And before it goes out, I want you to use what is left to light that fire in you. ” (1963) This interest in all of humanity is important in noting a self actualizer. 15

Josephine Baker sought out that the world should see that all is one. She graciously embodied the other characteristics of autonomy and humor. Baker was one to do as she pleases and had no issue challenging what culture dictated she should be. She did not do this to create fuss, but instead to invoke thoughts that happened to come with smiles. She always gave a very strong sense of who she was and anyone watching her perform could see that she expressed herself so creatively with such ease. 16

References Feist, J. , & Feist, G. (2013). Theories of personality (8 th ed. ). New York, New York: Mc. Graw-Hill. Hine, D. (1993). Black women in America: An historical encyclopedia. Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Pub. Haberman, B. (2012, July 17). The Official Josephine Baker Website. Retrieved November 6, 2015, from http: //www. cmgww. com/stars/baker/ Stephen Papich, Remembering Josephine (New York: The Bobbs-Mererill Company, Inc. : 1976), 210 -213. IMDb (2015). Josephine Baker Biography. Retrieved November 1, 2015, from k Official site of Josephine baker (2009). Achievements. Retrieved November 1, 2105, from 17