On Nov. 30, the one and only Miss Josephine Baker will be inducted into the French Panthéon.
To an American, we may recognize the name but not really know or appreciate the real work that she did, but to any Parisian, hearing the name Josephine Baker is music to their ears, literally! As far as the French are concerned, she is one of them, because of her work during the Second World War and her help against the Nazis, not to mention her B-E-A-utiful voice and moxie.
It was the perfect plan; she was loved by everyone and was always in the public eye, which provided for the perfect cover-up. She would donate her proceeds to the French Army as well as gather information about Nazi officers and would even hide secret messages in her dress. Although born in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker was quickly embraced in Paris and soon took France by storm, which is where she spent most of her career. She will be the first black woman to be inducted, and out of the 80 people previously inducted, only five of them are women, not including Baker herself.
“Baker should not be inducted only because she was a woman or because she was Black," writer Laurent Kupferman said, who started the petition to calling for Baker's remains to be relocated to the Panthéon. "She should be inducted because of the acts of courage she performed for the country."
Needless to say, her family really pushed for this and they couldn’t be more happy and grateful for their mother to be recognized for her bravery and active resistance.