Paris pays homage to entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker with vibrant new mural

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.

Artist Franck Duval, aka FKDL, works on a mural of U.S.-French entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker (Artist Franck Duval, aka FKDL, works on a mural of U.S.-French entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker)

“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”.

Related

• Josephine Baker exhibition in Berlin celebrates the trailblazing dancer
• An ode to Josephine Baker: Dior winds back the clock in Paris with new collection

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.

Brian Baker, son of U.S.-French entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker, stands in front of a new mural of his mother painted by artist Franck Duval, aka FKDL (Brian Baker, son of U.S.-French entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker, stands in front of a new mural of his mother painted by artist Franck Duval, aka FKDL)

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.”

The mural is set in northeastern Paris, besides the Canal de l'Ourcq. (The mural is set in northeastern Paris, besides the Canal de l'Ourcq.)

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.