A striking new mural in northeast Paris celebrates Josephine Baker – American-born performer, French Resistance spy, and civil rights hero – bringing her spirit back to the streets of the city she once called home.
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Paris is welcoming back one of its brightest stars – not on stage this time, but on a wall. Josephine Baker, the legendary performer, French Resistance spy, and civil rights activist, now watches over a diverse neighbourhood in northeast Paris thanks to a striking new mural.
The artwork, set just off the Canal de l’Ourcq, is the latest creation by urban artist FKDL and part of a local street art festival aimed at boosting community spirit. And it’s not just a pretty painting – it’s a powerful reminder of Baker’s legacy.
“I feel moved and I feel happy, because this is part of a memory of my mother,” said her son Brian Baker at the mural’s unveiling on Saturday, speaking to the Associated Press. Brian is one of 12 children Josephine Baker adopted from across the globe – a group she fondly referred to as her “rainbow tribe”, or what Brian calls “a little United Nations”.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker became a huge star in the 1930s after moving to France in 1925 to escape segregation in the United States. But her life was never just about the spotlight. She bravely spied on the Nazis for the French Resistance during the Second World War, and later marched beside Martin Luther King Jr. during the U.S. civil rights movement.
The new mural – designed to represent freedom and resistance – is one of several recent artworks commissioned in the area by the group Paris Colours Ourq. FKDL, who specialises in celebrating women through street art, said Baker has long been a personal inspiration.
“Josephine Baker has always been, for me, a somewhat iconic figure of that era. Both wild and free-spirited, but also deeply connected to music, musicals, and dance,” he said. “She was an extraordinary character, an incredible woman.”
In 2021, Baker became the first Black woman to be inducted into France’s Panthéon, joining the ranks of Voltaire, Marie Curie and Victor Hugo. But according to her son, she never cared for the limelight.
“My mother wouldn’t have liked words like iconic, star, or celebrity. She would have said, no, no let’s keep it simple,” he said.
