7. NAACP Bigwig, and Controversy
Baker’s stand against racism and segregation won her the admiration of the NAACP, leading it to declare Sunday, May 20th, 1951, “Josephine Baker Day”. She was also presented with an NAACP lifetime membership by Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche. However, her assertiveness and outspokenness alarmed many. By 1951, Baker was an accomplished celebrity and a decorated war heroine, oozing self confidence – not exactly what many expected of black women. Some black people even shunned her, fearing that she would harm the cause by demanding too much, too soon. Nonetheless, Baker persisted in supporting civil rights, even from abroad. In 1963, after she was finally allowed back into the US, she spoke at the March on Washington, at Martin Luther King’s side. Wearing her Free French uniform, with her wartime decorations and medals, Baker was the only official female speaker at the event.