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Saint-Georges in Paris in Département de Paris, Île-de-France, France — Western Europe
 

Joséphine Baker

 
 
Josephine Baker Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 24, 2022
1. Josephine Baker Marker
Inscription.  
Ici
Joséphine Baker
(1906-1975)

Artiste de music-hall, résistante, militante des droits civiques, tint un cabaret de 1926 à 1928 favorisant la diffusion du jazz et de la culture afro-américaine.

(English translation:)
Here Josephine Baker (1906-1975), music hall artist, resistance fighter, and civil rights activist, ran a cabaret from 1926 to 1928 promoting the dissemination of jazz and Afro-American culture.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansArts, Letters, MusicCivil RightsWomen. A significant historical date for this entry is December 14, 1926.
 
Location. 48° 52.972′ N, 2° 19.998′ E. Marker is in Paris, Île-de-France, in Département de Paris. It is in Saint-Georges. It is on Rue Pierre Fontaine, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 40 Rue Pierre Fontaine, Paris, Île-de-France 75009, France. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, Europe, the European Union, Atlantic Europe, the Schengen Area, Western Europe, a coastal Mediterranean country, and the Western
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World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a French colony and also the Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Andre Breton (1896-1966) (here, next to this marker); José Maria Luis Mora (within shouting distance of this marker); Le Moulin-Rouge (about 150 meters away, measured in a direct line); L'Atelier de Degas / Degas' Studio (about 150 meters away); Copi (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Raymond Souplex (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Bernard-Marie Koltès (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); L’hôtel du comte d’Escalopier / Count Escalopier’s Mansion (approx. 0.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Paris.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
 
Also see . . .
1. Failed effort to save Josephine Baker’s cabaret in Paris recalls her legacy (The Grio, 5/14/21).
Excerpt: In artistic Montmartre, Paris, a stone’s throw away from the red windmill tower of the landmark Moulin Rouge, sits a piece of Josephine Baker’s legacy that is not widely known…A year after sailing to France to
Josephine Baker Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 24, 2022
2. Josephine Baker Marker - wide view
perform in the Revue Nègre at the Champs-Elysees theater, a role that would introduce her to Paris and set her on her way to stardom, Baker opened her own cabaret, Chez Josephine, on Dec. 14, 1926. The cabaret was located on a hillside street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
(Submitted on December 31, 2022.) 

2. Josephine Baker (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics,…During her early career, Baker was among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the Folies Bergère in Paris….Baker was celebrated by artists and intellectuals of the era, who variously dubbed her the "Black Venus", the "Black Pearl", the "Bronze Venus", and the "Creole Goddess"….She aided the French Resistance during World War II. After the war, she was awarded the Resistance Medal by the French Committee of National
Josephine Baker in banana skirt from the Folies Bergère production "Un Vent de Folie" image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Lucien Waléry (via Wikimedia Commons), 1927
3. Josephine Baker in banana skirt from the Folies Bergère production "Un Vent de Folie"
“…Her performance in the revue Un vent de folie in 1927 caused a sensation in the city. Her costume, consisting of only a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace, became an iconic image and a symbol both of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.” - Wikipedia
Liberation, the Croix de Guerre by the French military, and was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle….Baker refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States and is noted for her contributions to the civil rights movement….On 30 November 2021, she was interred in the Panthéon in Paris, the first black woman to receive one of the highest honors in France.…
(Submitted on December 31, 2022.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 31, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 439 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on December 31, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
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Jul. 17, 2026