Curator, Commentator

Forty-five years after her death, France decided to induct Josephine Baker, the African American-born singer/performer, into the monument for its most veneered citizens.    Josephine Baker had lived the majority of her adult life in France, ‎adopting French life, language, and even working briefly ‎during the Second World War as a spy for the French ‎Resistance. ‎   Her induction to the Pantheon seems to be a testament to French egalitarianism, and France’s ‎embrace of people coming from diverse backgrounds. ‎   However, a closer look at France's past, may reveal signs that ‎Baker’s induction perhaps isn’t as bright or fantastical as one ‎might think, or believe.