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The Life of Josephine Baker

            My name is Rehanna Little and I have had the great opportunity to grow up next to such an inspiring women names Josephine Baker. From being a great friend of Baker, I was able to understand the way she actually lived her life and the struggles she went through. I was inspired to write about Baker because through all the obstacles she faced, not once did she ever give up her dream of being a performer. .
             Being an African American in the 1900's was not an easy thing to do. Racism was very common in the lifetime of Josephine. Baker did not start off living the life everyone dreams of but worked her way to the top regardless of what was said to her and how many times she had been denied due to the color of her skin. Baker had been taught to work since the age of 13. Her work ethic was also so persistent and she was such a strong and independent women, which is why she inspires me in many ways. Josephine toured the United States with the Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers in 1919 performing comical skits. She tried to pursue her career as a chorus girl for The Dixie Steppers in Sissle and Blake's production "Shuffle Along," however, Baker was rejected because she was "too skinny" and her skin was too dark. That didn't stop her; she learned the chorus line's routines while working as a dresser and was the backup performer when a dancer wasn't available. The audience loved her on stage. They were most thrilled from her silliness on stage and how comical her dancing was. The part of Baker that intrigued me the most was that she wasn't afraid to be herself on stage and didn't let any comments that were unnecessary get to her head. She was consistently commercial in every performance. She was also known for her choice of wardrobe, very different from any other performer any audience member had seen before. .
             Baker was very confident in her body and ethnicity which had inspired me to also try and do the same.


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