Josephine Baker (1906 - 1975) was a performer from St. Louis who rose to fame in New York in the 1920s in the Broadway musicals Shuffle Along and Chocolate Dandies—both hugely popular productions created by and starring African Americans. She went on to build a successful career primarily in Europe as a singer, dancer, and film star, creating a complex image of female sexuality that knowingly played with exoticism and stereotypes while also thwarting them. She was later part of the French Resistance during World War II and was active in the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s. As noted in the biography written by her son, Baker had relationships with both women and men and she worked toward racial and sexual equality in her public and private life. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤 #BlackHistoryMonth  #JosephineBaker #LGBTQ