The date of May 8 was not chosen at random.
A campaign called “Dare Josephine” asking for Joséphine Baker to enter the Pantheon began on the 76th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
This symbolic association with traditional commemorations is intended to recall the commitment to the resistance of the creator of
J'ai deux amours
.
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Between 1940 and 1942, in particular, it gathered information on the positions of the German army in France. The customs officers asking her for autographs rather than her papers, she was never worried at the borders. She was thus able to transmit to London, reports and pictures, pinned under her dress, or transcribed in sympathetic ink, on the scores of her songs. His actions were rewarded in 1945 with the rank of lieutenant in the air force, the Croix de Guerre, the Medal of the Resistance and the Legion of Honor. Her actions and her courage will be recalled to those to whom the petition will be addressed, directly or via social networks: elected representatives of the Republic, students from several Joséphine Baker schools, and anonymous people who have not forgotten her. . June 3,date of the anniversary of his birth, the signatures and videos collected will be presented to the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, and addressed to Emmanuel Macron, with the hope that he decides that, for the first time, an artist enters the Pantheon.
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Brian Baker, one of the children of "La Tribu Arc-En-Ciel" is at the origin of this crusade in memory of his mother. He thus takes over from Régis Debray who, five years ago, launched the idea of this form of recognition of the fatherland. François Hollande had accepted the principle, but the matter remained there. To convince his successor of the importance of this symbolic gesture, and to raise this administrative file above the pile, Brian Baker has no shortage of arguments. He recalls that the one who was the first black international star, devoted the last 25 of his sight to fight for the rights of women and against racial discrimination. In France, it got involved alongside LICA, which has now become LICRA. She even sang, at the Olympia,for the benefit of this association.
Ideals of brotherhood
Present, in military uniform, alongside Martin Luther King, when he launched
I have a dream
, she gave lectures at conferences bringing together "black" writers.
She ardently defended these causes dear to her heart, playing the “megaphone” during face-to-face meetings with John Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Juan Peron, and Marshal Tito.
Her ideals of brotherhood and universalism are also marked by an audience at the Vatican with Pope Paul VI, where she arrived, accompanied by her twelve adopted children.
“Mom also took us to Israel, right after the 1967 Six Day War,”
says Brian.
She considered the photo where we are with Golda Meir, as a message of peace and brotherhood.
Our tribe was, somewhere like the United Colors of Benetton advertising. ”
"You have to go to school, and you have to learn to protect yourself with the pen, not with the pistol"
Josephine Baker
His brothers and sisters, of course, support his initiative. By the way, what happened to them? Brian, lives near Paris, and Marianne, like him in Algeria, settled in the surroundings of Valenciennes. Akio, adopted in Japan, stayed in Dordogne, while Janot, also from Tokyo, became a gardener in Monaco. Luis, taken in in Bogota, lives a happy retirement in Menton. Jari, born in Helsinki, settled in New York, Koffi, native of Ivory Coast, chose to live in Argentina, Stellina, of Moroccan origin, is in Italy and Mara, the Venezuelan, near Valenciennes . Jean-Claude, who was born in Canada, is in Paris, like André, discovered by Joséphine at Bretonneau hospital. Moses, who was nine months old when she hugged him, has died.He is buried in Monaco in a family vault where Joséphine, Jo Bouillon, her husband, and Margaret his sister also rest. The nearby tomb is that of Princess Grace.
“My mother once told us: you have to go to school, and you have to learn to protect yourself with the pen, not with the gun. She added: all men and women can live together, if they wish ”.
A lesson in life that encourages her children to do this duty of remembrance for eternity.