“Each time I leaped I seemed to touch the sky and when I regained earth it seemed to be mine alone” - Josephine Baker

Born in 1906, Josephine Baker began touring with her first dance troipe at the age of 16. At 19, she moved to Paris to perform at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and introduced her famous danse sauvage. She became the most popular entertainer in France and earned star billing at the Folies-Bergére, where established another famous dance in a banana skirt. She once said, "one dance has made me the most famous colored woman in the world." She began singing professionally and in 1930 was one of the early artists to be in films. World War II cut most artists careers short, but nothing ever stopped Josephine Baker. During the German occupation of France, she entertained the French Résistance troops in Africa and the Middle East. Baker once said, "I shall dance all my life. . . . I would like to die, breathless, spent, at the end of a dance." She performed up until she died in 1975.

Josephine Baker achieved much in her lifetime as a war hero and civil rights leader. Her career as a performer is equally as important. She herself explained, “On the contrary, I have been very proud of my start, because it has made me remain human, and in that way understand my fellow brothers of misery.”

Sales of this NFT will help Addonis continue to help impact the community through his artwork and youth mentorship programs. Learn more here