HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAYARD RUSTIN Today, he would have celebrated his 99th Birthday

Bayard Rustin at news briefing on the Civil Rights March on Washington in the Statler Hotel, half-length portrait, seated at table - August 27, 1963

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American civil rights activist, important largely behind the scenes in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and earlier. He is credited as the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.


He counseled Martin Luther King, Jr. on the techniques of nonviolent resistance. He became an advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes in the latter part of his career. Homosexuality was criminalized at the time, which made him a target of suspicion and compromised some of his effectiveness.

Women's History Month: Josephine Baker, Entertainer & Activist

By J9 of J9's MusicLife

To celebrate Women's History month, throughout March check out a series of features on women who have impacted history as it relates to music.

Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), American-born French dancer, singer, and actress, was the first African American female to star in a major motion picture and to integrate an American concert hall.  Born Freda Josephine McDonald from St. Louis, Missouri, she lived on the streets at the age of 12.  By 15, her street-corner dancing got her into the St. Louis Chorus vaudeville show.  She then moved to New York City and performed at the Plantation Club and in the chorus of the popular Broadway revues.  Baker was considered "the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville."

Later, she went to Paris and performed at the jazz revue La Revue Nègre.  Even though the show failed, the attention she received gave her the opportunity to open at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1925.  There, she became a success, known for her erotic dancing.  Some might be familiar with the bananas costume she wore in the Danse sauvage.   These performances gave her the nicknames "Black Venus," "Black Pearl" and "Creole Goddess." 

Soon after, Baker became the most successful American entertainer in France.  Her most successful song was J'ai deux amours (1931) and she became a muse for contemporary authors, painters, designers, and sculptors like Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and Christian Dior.
 


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