Josephine Baker: Deon Lockhart

Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine Baker in a poor city in East St.Louis, Illinois on June 3, 1906. She was descended from Apalachee Indians and black slaves in South Carolina. Her father was a drummer and Josephine never really saw him. At the age of eight Josephine was hired out to white woman as a maid; she was forced to sleep in the coal cellar with a pet dog and was scalded on the hands when she used to much soap in the laundry. When she was thirteen she left home and got married but the marriage only lasted a couple of months. She began performing as a street musician in St. Louis and soon graduated to performing on the T.O.B.A. vaudeville circuit.In 1922 she landed a small part as a comedy chorus girl in the touring company of Sissle and Blake's musical revue "Shuffle Along". Josephine played her role very well and came to the attention of Sissle and Blake.They wrote a special part for her in their 1924 production of "Chocolate Dandies". French producers came to New York looking to cast an all-black musical revue in Paris. They saw Josephine performing at the Plantation club and offered her a part in their production La Revue Negré. In 1925 she went to Paris to appear in in the show. The show opened on October 2, 1925 in Paris at the Theatre Champs-Elysees.