 Good day and welcome to Letters and Politics. I'm Mitch Jezerich. Josephine Baker was one of the most well-known artistic stars globally in the 20th century for her work in music, dance, and film. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906, Josephine Baker as a young woman would move to New York City where she would take to the stage. But with limited opportunities, likely or perhaps even primarily because she was black, she packed up and sailed off to Paris where she became the first black woman to star in a major motion picture series.