As we reported earlier today, Josephine Baker is being honored by her adopted country, France, today as she is enshrined in the Pantheon.
Below, former culture minister, Jack Lang, paid tribute to Baker. The below article by France Bleu is translated by Fousesquawk.
Josephine Baker to the Pantheon: "An example for all women" for Jack Lang
Tuesday 30 November 2021 at 11:11 by Lise Roos Weil, France Bleu
The French-American artist and resister, who lived 31 years in Dordogne, enters the Pantheon this Tuesday, 30 November. Jack Lang, former minister of culture, who signed the petition, "Dare Josephine", was the guest of 6-9, France Bleu Perigord.
Caption beneath photo:
Jack Lang, ex-minister of culture, observes the journey of Josephine Baker, who enters the Pantheon this Tuesday.
Former minister of culture, Jack Lang, was one of the first personalities to have worked for the admission of Josephine Baker into the Pantheon. In 2019, he signed the petition, "Dare Josephine". This Tuesday, 30 November, the French-American artist and resister enters among the "immortals". "She is an iconic, symbolic figure," testifies Jack Lang, guest of 6-9 France Bleau Perigord. "A combative and courageous woman." Josephine Baker is the 6th woman to enter the Pantheon and the first black woman. The ex-minister sees in her an example: "I hope that this ceremony will give all women of France, whatever their origin, the courage to be able to go forward and will show men that they should recognize the rights of all women."
"I hope that this ceremony will give all women of France, whatever their origin, the courage to be able to go forward...."
For Jack Lang, this ceremony should mark a before and after in our society. "What matters is that this entry into the Pantheon is not a way of saying, 'Hi, good day, Josephine' and then forget, he explains. "She must accompany us through the years to come as an example. A militant for civil rights at the side of Martin Luther King, the entry of Josephine Baker into the Pantheon sends a message of unity, it is a symbol of the disappearance of discrimination, our desire to be a united nation."
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