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You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right so you wear it all the time but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
Hi, friends. I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Hi. Look, here we believe history does not have to be boring. I mean, usually, yeah, it's kind of tragic, and sometimes it's happy, but either way, it's our dark history. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let's talk about that hot, juicy history goss. ♪
Welcome back to the Josephine Baker saga. This is part two. And before we get into the meat of the story, let's do a little recap of part one. If you don't remember, Josephine, she was born in St. Louis into poverty and had a very hard upbringing. From the age of seven, she had to take on manual labor jobs where she faced physical, verbal, and sexual abuse from the people she thought she trusted. But Josephine had an escape.
She loved to sing, dance, perform, and always held onto this dream that one day she would be a star. So the first year she gets, 13-year-old Josephine hitches her wagon to a famous singer and gets the hell out of St. Louis on a train headed for Memphis, Tennessee, where she vowed to herself, "I'm leaving here a nobody, but someday I'm gonna be a somebody."
From there, she worked her way up and received an opportunity of a lifetime to dance professionally in Paris, where Josephine revolutionized pretty much like everything when it came to pop culture. In the mid to late 1920s, Josephine was starting to make a name for herself in the music world.
Songs like J'ai du J'Aimure, which is French for I Have Two Loves, and another song called I Love My Baby. That one's easier for me to say. But both of those songs, they were very, very big hits for her. Her focus on music didn't last too long because both Josephine and the world are about to go through a seismic shift.
Even though Josephine was a superstar, I mean she still attracted negative attention because of her race. And that's because prejudice was infiltrating France. Mostly because the Americans were like moving there unfortunately. Now this was a major bummer because Josephine had been obsessed and in love with Paris specifically because it had been such a liberating free place
especially for like people of color. So one night Josephine is performing and an American in the audience shouts at her that back in quote, his country, end quote, she would be in the kitchen and like not on a stage. So not long after that, a hotel manager straight up refuses to rent a room to Josephine because he was worried that the presence of a black woman at the hotel would offend the guests. It's like, hello, I am Josephine Baker.
But it was like, this was just the beginning because around the same time, there was this little book that had been published that was starting to get like some major attention. It was a book called "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler. I know it was just like out of left field with that one, right? I was like, what? All right. In "Mein Kampf," which means my struggle in German, Hitler preached the idea that black people were inferior to white people among many other horrible concepts.
and also that he wanted to be a painter and his dad didn't want him to be a painter. It's really random. So by the time Josephine goes on tour in 1928, everything had changed for her. She went from being like the darling of Paris to being a target of the Nazi party. What? Yeah. There were like these posters and flyers that were circulating around Germany, all with like her face on them, calling her the Black Devil.
What the f***? I mean, there was a petition going around that was trying to stop all of her performances like immediately. I guess Josephine had traveled to Vienna for work and when she had gotten there, there were protesters just lining the streets, all chanting for her to pretty much go home. Thankfully, tons of fans show up to support her on opening night and she takes this as like a sign of encouragement. Like she just needs to keep going and like not
give in to these pieces of garbage but things just keep getting like sketchier and sketchier as the tour goes on I guess in Budapest people literally threw ammonia bombs onto the stage while she was performing obviously scares the crap out of her right there's bombs on the stage but again she doesn't she doesn't stop she doesn't let them she doesn't let them win
Honestly, I thought she was like super punk rock. She just gave him middle finger to the man and I love it. In 1937, Josephine became like a cover girl once again, but this time it was a little bit different, okay? Her face was on the cover of a Nazi brochure designed by none other than this guy, Joseph Goebbels. And this guy, Joseph, he was a chief propagandist for the Nazi party and like Hitler's BFFFFFFF, right hand man.
So this guy, Joseph, used her face on a brochure. Excuse me? You're gonna have to pay for that, sir. So obviously this brochure pissed the fuck Josephine off.
But also at this time, she had a new lover in her life and he was Jewish. And this is like the straw that breaks the camel's back. Josephine is like, look, I've been yelled at. I've been stampeded. I've been bombed. I have had it. And she goes on record telling the press that the Nazis were, quote, criminals and criminals needed to be punished, end quote.
Right? Hello? Yeah, we all agree, Josephine. But at the time, this was like, what? Josephine apparently claimed that she would kill them with her own hands if necessary. Like Wendy Williams' death to all of them. Good for her, though, you know? The French government, they're called the Deuxième Bureau. They're the CIA, essentially. Okay. Their current attention was focused on keeping Hitler and the Nazis in check. So they're brainstorming.
How can we do so? How can we keep them in check? And they had an idea. Shortly after, Josephine was approached by a member of the Deucey team about becoming a, quote, honorable correspondent. She's like, what's that? Basically, they're like, do you want to be like a secret agent? And I was like, oh, no, is she going to be like Coco Chanel? Remember the horizontal collaborator? I was like, she can suck the fart out of my ass and call her Chanel number five. Coco. Coco.
Right? It smells like ass sometimes when you think about it. Anyway, but it's not like that, actually. It's nothing like that. So this undercover job meant that Josephine would report any intelligence that she was able to retrieve back to the French government. Now it was completely voluntary, unpaid, and dangerous, which is so lame. But Josephine didn't care, which is good for her, but I was like, really?
Unpaid, don't be rude. But she didn't care because as far as she was concerned, like this was gonna be her new life's purpose. Plus on top of that, she loved acting and playing like new roles. She's like spy.
I can do that. I mean, think about it. She could play the goofy comic relief or she could be the gorgeous leading lady. But underneath all of that, you know, she was a slick, a smart lady who was just like a natural chameleon. And she knew how to get what she wanted. So go, go Josephine. Be a spy. Spread your wings wide.
So kind of without even knowing it, I mean Josephine was training her whole life to be the perfect spy and it was the job of Jacques Abtie, a French intelligent agent, to decide that if like she could even be trusted for undercover work. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean it fits you just right. So you wear all the
time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops, and my favorite part,
All Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices
and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
- Woo! In September of 1939, Jock showed up to Josephine's mansion, expecting to find, you know, her being like a diva, wearing a gown and jewels, and ordering her butlers around. As one does. Instead, he found Josephine in like,
a raggedy hat and worn out pants. She apparently just finished digging in the garden for snails to feed her ducks. We know about this meeting because a British journalist wrote about it in his book called Agent Josephine. And he said that Josephine won Jocko over by two ways. First, by expressing her deep love and loyalty for France. She's like, oh my God, oui, oui, I love a French fry. Mm.
Second, she proved that she was already living like a double life. One of her lives was that of a global icon, right? A superstar.
And then the other life was that one that he was witnessing at the very moment. Her childlike, relatable, a normal ass woman side. So after vetting Josephine, Jock said it was time for her first mission. So her job was to get in full on the Italians, who at the time were allies with Hitty.
I know this totally sounds like a movie, but it's real life. I guess years earlier, Josephine was very public about her support of Italy at the time. And because of her public support, it earned her the love of a Chatty Cathy. And this Chatty Cathy just happened to be a man who worked for the Italian ambassador,
Yes, it was like someone on the inside. Josephine set up a meeting with an Italian staffer and came up with a brilliant way to get information from this guy. She emasculated him. I know, LOL. Anytime like this guy said anything, Josephine would provoke him by disagreeing or like contradicting him. He'd be like, the sky's blue. And she'd be like, um...
Is it though? Then he would have to prove himself back to her. And he'd be like this big strong man getting all cocky. But because of this, he would start like exposing himself.
and like maybe saying a little too much hot inside goss that was going on behind the scenes with his job. He just wanted to prove that he knew what he was talking about. Josephine would then go all the way back to Jock and pass on this information. And then from there, if he thought it was important enough, he would pass it on to French intelligence. And from that experience, Josephine realized embassies were like the perfect place for her to gain access to top secret information.
And it kind of made sense for her to be in a place like that because she's a public figure who did travel a lot for work.
and no one would like question why a global superstar was there at the embassy. And for Josephine, there were always official people coming and going within the embassy. So like lots of important information made its way through there. Through leaning on some friends and contacts that she had at the Japanese embassy, Josephine uncovered that Japan had signed a secret pact with Hitler. Now, no one knew this at the time, and Josephine was the one who blew it wide open.
Oh shit, what? Yeah. France and the Allies were able to change their military strategy because of it. She learned from France, the Portuguese embassy, that Germany was planning to occupy Portugal to
to take over their valuable ports. And this was like a big deal at the time because Portugal was neutral in the war. They were just like trying to stay out of the whole thing. Germany was planning to drag them into the fight and use their ports to get direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. Germany never invaded and it could be because the allies were ready because of Josephine's expert tactics.
While all this was like going, Josephine made use of her pilot skills. Girl, I don't know. Okay, like some days I don't know if I have the energy to even like fucking take a shower. And it's like this girl, in her spare time, she learned how to fly a freaking airplane.
- Yeah. You go Josephine, you go. She learned how to fly a plane, okay? She would load up a private plane. She would get a bunch of supplies and then she would fly to countries that border Germany where she would give aid to refugees. I love her. I think she's an angel.
Because of the work she was doing, Josephine proved herself to be one of France's most valuable assets when it came to being an international spy. In early June of 1940, Jock tipped Josephine off with a piece of info that would save her life.
You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced $50 to
80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices
and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy, and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.
Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
So Jacques let Josephine know that the Germans were planning to invade Paris. So Josephine loaded up her cars with like all the essentials, you know, some clothes, a few champagne bottles, but filled with gasoline. And also an elderly Jewish couple she was hiding from the Nazis. So they all loaded up and they got out of there fast. Josephine left Paris and drove straight to the Dordogne region of France.
which I guess is like the southwestern part of the nation where she had like a country home. Now it sounds cute. You're like country home? Oh my God, cute and small. But it was not. It was stunning. A 15th century castle known as Chateau de Milan. Wow, it's gorgeous. It's stunning. It's beautiful. It's everything. Gothic architecture, stained glass windows, gardens all around. It's like something you'd see in a Disney movie. I gotta get out.
goals, right? So when they got there, Josephine and Jock turned this summer house into like a secret fortress. So they installed a radio transmitter on one of the castle's towers so they could communicate with Britain and they filled their cellar with all sorts of weapons for the resistance fighters who would come and go. And while all this was going on, Josephine decided to invest more time in Jock.
both professionally and personally.
They were both married at the time, but you know, who cares? Josephine and Jacques, they got involved, baby, romantically. I guess they would drive around the sleepy roads in Josephine's Jaguar, just falling in love, all against the backdrop of war. Some real Mr. and Mrs. Smith type shit. While at the Chateau, Josephine and Jacques, they would take romantic canoe trips on the river.
Jock also gave Josephine shooting lessons, you know, teaching her how to properly use a gun. I mean, she was a spy though. She kind of, she needed to know how to use a gun. And if anything, if any of her missions went sideways and she was like captured, Jock gave Josephine a cyanide pill to end her life quickly. True love? No. That sucks. Would you take the pill? I don't know. Would I take the pill?
Well, it depends. What kind of torture am I getting? Okay, anyways, a job came down from the commander of the French intelligence. And the commander had info that needed to get to the Brits. And this was like very, very time sensitive.
The files contained information about plans that the Axis powers had to conquer British territory. The commander turned to Josephine to get the files into their hands. So in November of 1940, Josephine and Jock hopped on a train that left France and traveled through Spain. Josephine leaned into like the whole superstar vibe again. I mean, you know, I was like her cover. It works. She was wearing tons of fur.
first and saying that she was going on a tour through Europe. And Jock, I mean, he just said that he was her tour manager, you know? Hidden inside all of her trunks full of costumes and makeup was actually like secret information and it was written on invisible ink on her sheet music for the tour that she was on, you know? So even if their stuff ended up getting searched, German soldiers, they would be none the wiser.
When the train got to its destination in Portugal, Josephine was swarmed by French, Spanish, and German officials, and they all wanted to get close to her because she was famous and fabulous. And that was the plan. Because while the attention was on Josephine, Jacques passed the files to a spymaster in London's Secret Intelligence Service.
Mission complete. Teamwork makes the dream work. And weren't spread fast, the global superstar was in town because while in Portugal, Josephine, she got like VIP invites to parties at the British, Belgian and French embassies.
And at each party, she worked the room. She went from like one ambassador to the next ambassador. She was like, oh man, my fur. Let me sing for you. La la la la la. The whole time she was just like listening for any information though that could help the French resistance. Whenever she heard something important, that's where she would beeline it back to her hotel room and like write notes on different pieces of paper that she would then like hide inside of her underwear.
She figured no one was going to strip search her, so it worked out. I mean, thankfully she was right. So Josephine also used her seductive powers as a political tool. She charmed world leaders and was able to get into like private rooms and obtain valuable information. And then she was able to transport it by using her celebrity status as the perfect example.
camouflage. Laura Michelle Jackson at the New Yorker, she put it best. She said, quote, "The most public of figures in her heyday, Josephine pulled off the trick of vanishing into visibility, of disappearing into the limelight." End quote. Ooh, yeah. But in the summer of 1941, Josephine's work as a spy started to wind down. While she and Jacques were in Casablanca, sounds all fancy, but I guess Josephine, she got super sick.
She was doubled over with terrible stomach pains. So Jacques took her to a clinic in June. And then no one knew what happened to her. This was for like the first time in her life as a superstar. She was completely out of the public eye. She was actually MIA for so long that the United Press International had reported that Josephine had died. People never believed in it. I mean, where was she? I don't know. And then soon, newspapers around the world
world published huge headlines saying Josephine Baker was... You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen. And you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.
R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.
It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.
So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.
Well, it turns out that Josephine was actually just in the hospital for like 18 months. Now, no one knows exactly what she went through, but she had many procedures while she was hospitalized there. One worker at the clinic said Josephine got a hysterectomy and then developed a horrible blood infection. And that infection created scar tissue that meant she had to have more surgeries.
But either way, she was just out of the limelight and she was in the hospital. While she was recovering, her clinic room also doubled as a rendezvous point where her supporters of the French resistance could meet with other high level officials like American diplomats.
Again, they use her celebrity as the perfect cover to meet without like raising any eyebrows. Josephine left the clinic in December of 1942, but she'd been out of the game for so long, her time as like a spy was essentially, it was over. It was just like the end of an era. But you know, Josephine, she wasn't ready to retire. Not completely.
At the same time, American soldiers were deployed to Morocco. So Josephine returned to doing what she does best, right? She entertaining the masses, of course. Even though she was still in a ton of pain from her medical procedures, she still, she rallied.
I imagine with the help of some medicine. Josephine managed to perform several times a day for thousands of soldiers. I mean, just to give them a moment of happiness in the middle of like all the horrifying things that were happening with the war. And like this brought her in close contact with black soldiers serving in the US Army. And these soldiers told her just horrifyingly
horrible stories of how racism was still a very big problem in the US. And Josephine was shocked. I mean, remember she had been living in liberal France for almost two decades and she was really removed from everything happening in the
She couldn't believe that these men were being treated like this after serving their country. So she promised the black soldiers that once the war was over, she would head back to the States to fight segregation. Josephine returned to New York in 1948 with her new husband. I don't know what number we're on, but go for her, a guy named Joe. Yeah, I don't know what happened to Jock, but anyway, Josephine expected to receive critical treatment
critical acclaim when like she returned to her homeland. But instead, she just found a whole lot of prejudice. Her fame and France, it didn't really translate to the US the same way at all. I mean, New York, they did her dirty. She and her husband,
her husband, who happened to be white, were denied service at not one, not two, but 36 New York hotels. And this is when Josephine decides to become an undercover journalist.
Good for her. Like, you can be whatever you want in life. I love that. Okay, so I guess she gets tired of Joe. She leaves him in New York and she decides to travel through the American South using a fake name. So her goal was to get a firsthand, authentic look at what it was like to be a black person in America after World War II. So Josephine, she ended up detailing like her
like her travels in a French magazine and she talked about things like being thrown out of white only rooms at like railroad stations among other terrible experiences. And it like just really opened her eyes to the realities of America at the time. So
So Josephine, you know, she's like, fuck this noise. I'm out. And in 1950 and 1951, she did a tour through Latin America where she was like a huge hit in Cuba. She made such big waves that the agent for Miami Beach Club, it was called like Copa City. They had sent Josephine a note
handwritten, I'm assuming. And they were offering her a, quote, tremendous salary to come back to the States and perform at the club. But then Josephine found out that Copa City, this club that wanted her, they didn't even allow black patrons. So...
She's like, no, you can kindly fuck off. So the next day, the club's owner shows up in Cuba to visit Josephine. And he was like begging. He was begging her to come perform. But Josephine, she straight up told him that she couldn't work where like her people weren't allowed. It was pretty much as simple as that. So Josephine, she held firm. But the club owner was annoying, a little fly. It was persistent.
Well, after some negotiating, they agreed to some kind of contract. And in that contract, it said, quote, it is understood and agreed between both parties that patrons are to be admitted regardless of race, color, and creed. End quote. Everybody, why aren't you stopping everyone? Come on. No.
Go off, Josephine, right? She's making some serious changes. She even went as far to make sure that the Black patrons wouldn't be pushed to the back of the theater. She demanded that the audience be integrated, and the owner had agreed to that as well. So, pfft, queen. The club, they flew both Black and white celebrities to Miami for Josephine's show, and the place was said to be, like, packed. Now, at this time, Josephine was 44 years old. We've literally been following her since...
The beginning. Isn't that wild? She's 44 now. Anyway, she hits the stage and she said to everyone in the house that this was like the most important moment of her life. And also like with Josephine's civil rights work, it wasn't just focused on the theater community. She used her celebrity status to push white businesses in Chicago and San Francisco to hire more black Americans.
She attended the famous march on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous "I have a dream" speech. And Josephine didn't hesitate to be vocal when she personally faced discrimination at a restaurant in New York. I'm telling you, wow, right? Wow, wow. Well, I didn't know she did all this. Isn't that wild? The hell? We should have Josephine Baker statues everywhere.
So there was this restaurant and it was called the Stork Club and they essentially refused Josephine's service. So Josephine, she went and she filed a complaint with the NYPD and made it a public issue. So then the NAACP got involved, backing Josephine saying that, you know, this is total bullshit. I mean, hello, she's an A-lister and it was blatant racism. So the head of the NAACP even wrote to J. Edgar Hoover saying,
the director of the FBI, pleading with him to do something. And then Hoover, let me tell you, he responded with something saying like, I don't consider this to be any of my business. Because that guy's just a total fucking douche. And because of all this, the heat...
It just really came down to Josephine. She became too controversial for American audiences because at this point, political activism from entertainers was not accepted. So this controversy really pushed her out of the States once again. And Josephine, she tried to like tour Latin America again, but this time she found it like way more difficult to get gigs. That's because the American State Department and the FBI were not only investigating her,
but also putting out propaganda against her saying she was anti-American. And just we saw that it was like, hmm, it seems like J Edgar Hoover did actually consider Josephine to be his business.
Hmm. Interesting. So we know all of this because of a Freedom of Information Act request. And in it, it was exposed that the FBI investigated Josephine Baker from 1951 to 1966 because they thought that she might be a pro-communist.
She wasn't. But either way, they tried to discredit her by passing all sorts of negative information about her to the State Department and other sources for several years. Essentially, because she criticized American race relations, the government tried to ruin her reputation and her legacy. And they didn't totally tear her down, but her career did take a nosedive. Now, this all had a lasting and negative effect on Josephine, obviously.
for like the rest of our life. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I
love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman
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Josephine then started spending or focusing her time on building a family. She wasn't able to biologically have children herself because of the alleged hysterectomy and all of her procedures. So instead she set out to like adopt as many kids as she could. She wanted to have children of all races to prove
according to her, that children of different ethnicities and religions could still be brothers. The kids came from all corners of the globe. She got kids from everywhere, and she called her family the Rainbow Tribe. Eventually, there were 12 kids, okay, and they all lived in the French countryside at Chateau de Milan. She was like the OG 12 kids and counting, you know? Well, her popularity was, like, fading, unfortunately.
And the number of gigs was just slowing to a little trickle. The Chateau, it still was needing constant work done. And now that she was having so many mouths to feed, Josephine fell on like really hard times financially. So this is when Josephine has a great idea. She's like, what if I turn my house into a tourist attraction? And she does. And she calls it the village of the world. Okay, first of all, it's a nice castle, right? I'd want to see it.
But here's the thing. She was charging people to like come and see the property, you know, and they can come see, oh, look at my staircase or like look at my animals because she had a mini zoo. They could also have some lunch because she had a restaurant on the property. But honestly, the real reason everybody came was because they wanted to see her children.
AKA the rainbow tribe. Yeah, they wanted to see the kids living in harmony. So she would make her kids stand in front of like this big glass window where everyone could see them. And I don't know, they would just come and like look. Yeah. And it was so popular that by the late 1950s, there were like 300,000 visitors every single year. Just look at the kids.
Yeah, I don't know. I feel bad for the kids. I hope they got some of that money. You know, the village of the world, it ended up being a money pit and Josephine, she just couldn't afford to make ends meet, really. Things had gotten so bad that the chateau was being seized because of Josephine's financial debts. When the authorities came to take her beloved castle away, Josephine broke in wearing just her underwear and tried holding on to the oven
for dear life. Yeah. Anyway, she was eventually thrown out of the house in the rain, where she then...
had a heart attack. Reporters were actually there documenting this entire horrible experience, but they didn't stop, you know? They were probably loving it. They were snapping photos of poor, sad Josephine sitting on the stoop of her castle wondering what she's going to do next. Josephine survived, but she was desperate. Eventually, Grace Kelly, Josephine's BFF,
Also famous actress and princess of Monaco. I know, I was like, what? Well, she ended up coming to Josephine's rescue. Classic princess move. So she gave Josephine and her children, the rainbow tribe, a place to live in Monaco. And she also helped find schools for all the kids. But not only that, Princess Grace paid Josephine to perform at her annual Red Cross Gala.
I don't know. I guess she killed it though. It was like, "Ooh, Josephine's back, baby." But sadly,
it wasn't for long. On April 8th, 1975, Josephine Baker performed at the Bobino Theater in Paris for a star-studded audience. I guess she did 34 songs and she brought the house down. It was reported that people were sobbing, but like in a really good way. I guess it was really moving. Just watching those titties shake can be like
So moving. I'm just kidding. She was so much more than that, you know? Four days later on April 12th, 1975, while Josephine was reading newspaper headlines applauding her latest comeback, guess she collapsed to the floor. She had suffered a brain hemorrhage and died suddenly at the age of 68. It's so sad, but many find it comforting to know like she passed away reading, you know, glowing reviews about her latest performance.
In 2021, almost 50 years after she died, Josephine received one of the highest honors a French citizen can get. She became the first black woman and only the fifth woman ever to be buried in the iconic Pantheon Monument in Paris.
There was this massive ceremony thrown to honor the superstar, spy, and activist that Josephine Baker was. The event was super elegant, it was fit for a queen, and was attended by media outlets from all over the world, as she deserves. So do you see now why I had to make this a two-parter? There's still a lot we left out, okay? Because let me tell you about our kids. I guess our kids just like disappeared one day.
I don't know. It's just what I heard. I don't know. We can keep talking about it. Anyways, what stuck with me the most about Josephine's story was how she never let her circumstances dictate her life. And it seemed like anytime she was at the top, she always used her fame to help other people. So let's all be like Josephine, okay? Be a spy, around, figure it out, give back to your community.
Joan just wants to know what people are saying about her, honestly. It's so annoying.
Anyways, now let's read a couple of comments you guys left me. It's Mampy and Mama. Hey, Mampy and Mama. Left me a comment saying, quote, Bailey, yesterday my doctor and I were talking about your podcast and we agreed we are all in a club where we are okay with being morbid and I'm here for it. End quote. I gave it a few minutes to think about it. And how did I come up with your doctor? End quote.
What's that about? I got questions. But also, there's a name for it. For people who are kind of like curious about morbid stuff and whatnot. So don't feel weird because there actually is a name for it. I just can't think of it. But maybe ask your doctor. I forget what it's called. But I love you. Thanks.
Was your doctor hot? Let me know. Chill Sounds left a comment on our Death to Disco episode from season two, saying, quote, I got my pants pulled down while crowd surfing at 303 at Warped Tour. I'm so glad I have that in common with Bailey. End quote. So I shared that story that I was crowd surfing and got my pants pulled down. Mmm. Fun, huh? Yeah. Well, 203.
Twins! Saoirse Haggerty said, "Hi Bailey, I've been following you for around three years now as well and I was wondering if you'd be interested in covering the history of Staten Island's Willowbrook State School. Thank you for your content." Wow, thanks for the stay and that was so nice of you. Thanks. So I did a little quick Google, you know, and the first thing that came up was snake pit?
and I needed to know more. So I'm gonna have to circle back with you on that one, but thank you for the recommendation. We'll learn more and get back to you. Thanks you guys for hanging out with me and leaving a comment. I love you guys. I appreciate you and I love reading them every week. It's so fun. I'm having a blast, aren't you? Great. It's always so quiet in here, you guys.
Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junya McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Rush, and Matt Enlow from Maiden Network.
Writers, Joey Scavuzzo, Katie Burris, Allison Palobos, and me, Bailey Sarian. Production lead, Brian Jaggers. Research provided by Xander Elmore. I want to say a big special thank you to our expert, Sloane Crosley. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good rest of your week. You make your choices, and I'll be talking to you later. Goodbye.
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I'm Stanzi Potenza. And I'm Brad Padre. Launching June 13th is our new podcast, Late to the Party. In this post-ironic chat show, we'll show you a window into our world of crazy post-ironic thoughts. An unlikely friendship founded on a shared love for riffs, ranting, and getting absolutely wrecked.
Consider this an invitation to our inside jokes. You're late to the party, but no one cool ever shows up on time. Follow Late to the Party on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this kind of stuff.
