Josephine Baker

Beautifully gowned .... photographed in New York by Murray Korman.

A 1936 return to the United States to star in the Ziegfield Follies proved disastrous, despite the fact that she was a major celebrity in Europe. American audiences (i.e., whites), rejected the idea of a black woman with so much sophistication and power, newspaper reviews were equally cruel (The New York Times called her a "Negro wench"), and Josephine returned to Europe heartbroken. [The Official Site of Josephine Baker]