24. Racism at Home Forced Josephine Baker to Emigrate to France
Josephine Baker did relatively well in New York City, but 1920s America was not a great era for black people seeking to realize their full potential. Growing tired of the glass ceiling of racism that capped her career prospects, Baker decided to bet on herself by leaving America in search of greener pastures abroad. In 1925, aged nineteen, she headed to Paris, where she opened La Revue Negre. She became an immediate hit with her erotic dancing, performed semi-naked.
Baker took the City of Light by storm, as she remade herself into a glamorous Jazz Age cabaret star. Her signature stage act was quite risque, performed while clad only in high heels, a skirt made of artificial bananas, and a bra that revealed far more than it concealed. She sang and danced with a wild abandon and erotic frenzy that held the audience spellbound. Baker was often accompanied by her pet cheetah, Chiquita. Wearing a diamond collar, the feline would sometimes escape into the orchestra pit, terrifying the musicians and further enhancing the wildness of the moment.
