30 Great Quotes By Josephine Baker That Will Help You Seize More From Life
Josephine Baker was a renowned French vedette who gained fame as a singer, dancer and actor. One of her most eminent performances was in the show, ‘Un Vent de Foile’ in 1972. Her act created a sensation all over Paris and her costume become the talk of the town. She marked the ‘Jazz Age’ during the 1920’s. She was also the first person of African descent to star in a big motion movie titled ‘Zouzou’. She is also noted for her contributions to ‘Civil Rights Movement’. She is not only known for her notable performances but also remembered for her refusal to perform in the United States for segregated audiences. She was felicitated with the award of ‘Croix de Guerre’ after the war by the French Military and General Charles de Gaulle named her ‘Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur’. Here is a collection of quotations and sayings by the acclaimed entertainer who was also celebrated by the artists and intellectuals of that era. Read through the quotes and thoughts by Josephine Baker, the sensational artist with a winsome smile and expressive voice.
The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains.
I believe if the white and colored people could get together and be let alone, they would understand each other and consequently love each other.
I'm not intimidated by anyone. Everyone is made with two arms, two legs, a stomach and a head. Just think about that.
He was my cream, and I was his coffee - And when you poured us together, it was something.
I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too.
My people have a country of their own to go to if they choose... Africa... but, this America belongs to them just as much as it does to any of the white race... in some ways even more so, because they gave the sweat of their brow and their blood in slavery so that many parts of America could become prosperous and recognized in the world.
You must get an education. You must go to school, and you must learn to protect yourself. And you must learn to protect yourself with the pen, and not the gun.
Beautiful? It's all a question of luck. I was born with good legs. As for the rest... beautiful, no. Amusing, yes.
All my life, I have maintained that the people of the world can learn to live together in peace if they are not brought up in prejudice.
I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents. And much more.
I ran away from home. I ran away from St. Louis, and then I ran away from the United States of America, because of that terror of discrimination, that horrible beast which paralyzes one's very soul and body.
I wanted to get far away from those who believed in cruelty, so then I went to France, a land of true freedom, democracy, equality and fraternity.
I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents. And much more. But I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee, and that made me mad.
I believe in prayer. It's the best way we have to draw strength from heaven.
God dislikes evil, and no happiness can be built on hate. Love one another as brothers.
Friends, to me for years St. Louis represented a city of fear... humiliation... misery and terror... A city where in the eyes of the white man a Negro should know his place and had better stay in it.
I wasn't really naked. I simply didn't have any clothes on.
A violinist had a violin, a painter his palette. All I had was myself. I was the instrument that I must care for.
The hate directed against the colored people here in St. Louis has always given me a sad feeling... How can you expect the world to believe in you and respect your preaching of democracy when you yourself treat your colored brothers as you do?
All men can live together, if they wish to.
Let us stop saying 'white Americans' and 'colored Americans,' let us try once and for all saying... Americans. Let human beings be equal on Earth as in Heaven.
Americans, the eyes of the world are upon you. How can you expect the world to believe in you and respect your preaching of democracy when you yourself treat your colored brothers as you do?
The hate directed against the colored people here in St. Louis has always given me a sad feeling because when I was a little girl I remember the horror of the East St. Louis race riot.
When I was a child and they burned me out of my home, I was frightened and I ran away. Eventually I ran far away. It was to a place called France. Many of you have been there, and many have not. But I must tell you, ladies and gentlemen, in that country I never feared. It was like a fairyland place.
Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than the skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one's soul, when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood.
I ran away from St. Louis, and then I ran away from the United States, because of that terror of discrimination.
Is that what they call a vocation, what you do with joy as if you had fire in your heart, the devil in your body?
I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely.
I remember when Lindbergh arrived in Paris, I was one of the first persons to know about his landing, because as the French people know that I was born in St. Louis, thinking I would be very proud to announce it to the public, they gave me the news first. I was then starring in the 'Folies Bergere.'
We must change the system of education and instruction. Unfortunately, history has shown us that brotherhood must be learned, when it should be natural.
