"Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than skin tone when religion is seen more uniquely as a way to speak one's soul; When birthplaces have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free when understanding breeds, love and brotherhood"

Hello, my name is Josephine Baker. The day was September 22nd, 1927. I was about to star as Papitou, the lead in the French movie Siren of The Tropics.

I was born on June 3rd, 1906. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and as a young girl I hung out in a low-income area in St. Louis called Chestnut Valley. I had dropped out of school by the time I was 12 and was working as a waiter at 13.

In my early career, I was a dancer in various clubs and shows. My first big break was when I went to Paris to become a dancer. I also became a French spy in World War 2 against the Germans. I was awarded many awards and medals after my World War 2 service. I also supported the American Civil Rights Movement even though I was based in France. I also worked with the NAACP and I also introduced the Negro Women for Civil Rights, Rosa Parks, and Daisy Bates.

I remember hearing the sounds of the cameras as we were filming the movie and I saw my fellow co-stars rehearsing their lines and I saw the directors Mario Nalpas and Henri Etievant and the rest of the crew going over stage directions. I feel excited because I think the movie will be a success.

The impact of the movie is that I became the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. After the movie's release, I published an autobiography called Les memoirs de Josephine Baker.

I hope you'll remember me as a trailblazer in the entertainment industry and as an inspiration to Black entertainers even after all this time.