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When it came to the future of the world and the place of Black people in history, she was both impatient and deeply confident. She believed in youth, in education, and in the power of concrete examples over abstract rhetoric. She also believed— with disarming humility— that her role was not to be a symbol, but to live according to her convictions until the very last note. I believe that if white and black people could come together and be left alone, they would understand one another and, as a result, love one another. To make our dreams come true, we must decide to wake up. The secret to the fountain of youth is to have youthful thoughts.
THE FINAL CURTAIN · 1975 To die breathless, just as she had dreamed
In April 1975, at the age of sixty-eight, Josephine Baker took the stage one last time in Paris to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of her first revue. The show brought together all of Paris’ s biggest names. The press was enthusiastic, the audience was on its feet, and the reviews were rave. She was more radiant than ever. On April 10, she fell asleep while reading the press reviews hailing her triumph. The next morning, she was found in a coma, struck down by a cerebral hemorrhage. She died on April 12, 1975, at the Pitié- Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. Just as she had wished— she had said she wanted to die exhausted, at the end of a dance or a chorus. Her funeral at the Madeleine Church drew a massive crowd. She was the first American woman to receive a French military funeral. She rests in Monaco, in the family vault donated by Princess Grace. On November 30, 2021, France paid her the ultimate tribute: Josephine Baker was inducted into the Panthéon, the first Black woman to join the temple of the Republic. Her cenotaph joins those of Voltaire, Rousseau, and Victor Hugo. She who had fled segregationist America to find dignity in Paris now becomes a monument of the French nation— not in spite of her blackness, but because of everything she accomplished throughout her life.
Flashmag! Edition 172 Mai 2026
I have taken life’ s blows, but I have borne them with my head held high, with dignity, because I love and respect humanity so deeply. God does not love evil, and no happiness can be built on hatred. Love one another as brothers.“ The things we truly love always remain with us, locked away in our hearts for as long as life remains.”
Josephine Baker smiling, proudly wearing her French Air Auxiliary Lieutenant’ s uniform, April 25, 1945. [ Getty Images ]
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