[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 207 (Wednesday, December 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6724-H6725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                      CELEBRATING JOSEPHINE BAKER

  (Mr. ESPAILLAT asked and was given permission to address the House

[[Page H6725]]

for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of 
Josephine Baker, a daughter of Harlem and beloved in France, who, in 
her wake, made history yesterday. Josephine Baker became a bridge 
between France and the United States, especially in the fight against 
discrimination.
  She was an artist, a civil rights leader, a World War II resistance 
fighter, shining bright both on stage and off it. She was a woman of 
countless firsts: the first onstage, the first in the movies, and the 
first Black woman to break the rules and shatter the glass ceilings. 
Yesterday, she became another first, the first American-born, first 
Black woman, and first entertainer to be inducted into the French 
Pantheon. She joins nearly 80 luminaries in this Paris monument, where 
she will continue to be a bright light for all of us.
  I commend the French people and President Macron and thank them so 
much for keeping the legacy of Josephine Baker alive. Thank you so 
much. Merci beaucoup.

                          ____________________