The city and its Commission for Women will honor Josephine Baker on Thursday, November 12, marking the entertainer's refusal to perform before a segregated audience on Miami Beach more than 75 years ago.
The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park, 1700 Purdy Avenue. It is open to the public.
What is being unveiled
Thursday's event is a symbolic unveiling. According to a city press release, attendees will see a rendering of the future Josephine Baker Florida Historical Marker rather than the marker itself.
The permanent marker is to be installed at 1301 Dade Boulevard, the former site of the Copa City nightclub. The city has not announced an installation date.
What happened at Copa City
Baker, born in St. Louis and by then an international star based in France, was booked to appear at Copa City in early 1951. She agreed to take the stage only after the club committed to admitting an integrated audience.
The city, citing the Miami Design Preservation League, says Baker's contract required the club to admit patrons without regard to race, color, or creed. For her opening night on January 10, 1951, she invited Black and white celebrities from New York to attend.
The league, which recounted the Copa City engagement in a 2021 post, notes that similar anti-segregation clauses later became standard in her contracts across the United States.
At the time, the club was owned by Murray Weinger and Ned Schuyler, who also served as general manager, according to the city.
Who is behind the marker
The Miami Beach Commission for Women, a city advisory committee chaired by Lynette Long, championed the marker, according to the city.
Mayor Steven Meiner said in the release that Baker made an integrated audience a condition of her performance and "changed what was possible." Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt pointed to Baker's work for the French Resistance during World War II and said she brought the same fearlessness to the American civil rights movement.
This is not the city's first recognition of Baker. The City Commission proclaimed November 28, 2021, as Josephine Baker Day, and she was among the performers featured in "Ten Women Superstars," a Lummus Park exhibit presented by the Commission for Women and the Miami Design Preservation League.
If you go
- What: Symbolic unveiling of the Josephine Baker Florida Historical Marker
- When: Thursday, November 12, 11 a.m.
- Where: Maurice Gibb Memorial Park, 1700 Purdy Avenue
- Accessibility: To request accommodations, call 305.604.2ADA (2232); TTY users may call 711.
