The first biography to show Josephine Baker, the first African-American superstar, for what she was above all:
An idealistic fighter against racism and discrimination.
When Freda McDonald was born in 1906 in a poor neighborhood in Saint Louis, there was nothing to indicate that she would conquer the world as Josephine Baker, the first African-American superstar. The odds are against it for the illegitimate daughter of a laundress to turn the laws of racial segregation into the opposite, but Josephine Baker does not abide by any rules, she makes her own. For her, there is always another role in which she can re-realize herself and celebrate success. Whether on stage, as a troupe entertainer and war heroine - or in life, Josephine knows only the superlative. Josephine Baker's path from dancer in a banana skirt to political figure was long - but her numerous anti-racism projects were courageous, correct and consistently oriented towards one essential insight: "In the end, there is only one race: the human race" (Josephine Baker).