juneteenth
Today is Juneteenth. The first year I am aware of this special day but have also read that many brands are already making it a company holiday.
19th June 1865 is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States of America.
I wanted to bring to attention one of my earliest muses, Joséphine Baker. I first came across her at University during a Fashion History lesson. I thought she was INCREDIBLE and I quickly became obsessed with the 1920s. In fact, when I first started my business 13 years ago as a hobby, I used my drawing of a 1920s flapper mascot as my 'logo', she stayed with me for about 12 years until I rebranded, then rebranded again for the third time this year.
some very interesting facts about joséphine baker:
She was an American born (St, Louis), French entertainer. 3rd June 1906 – 12th April 1975 and a civil rights activist.
In 1927, she was the first mixed race actress to star in a major silent film, 'Siren of the Tropics'. She was 21 yrs old.
One of her performances consisted of her wearing only a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace which turned her into an icon of the 1920s.
She was a French Resistance agent during World War II and was awarded a medal, title and was the first American woman buried in France with military honors.
In 1968, she was offered unofficial leadership in the movement in America following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. She declined, to protect her children.
She had 12 adopted children who were all from different countries to prove that "children of different ethnicities and religions could still be brothers."
She refused to perform for segregated audiences in America even though she was offered $10,000 by a Miami club.
She worked with the @NAACP which declared May 20th as “Josephine Baker Day".