MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE FIRST FEMALE WAR PHOTOJOURNALIST
FULL NAME: Margaret Bourke-White
BORN: JUNE 14, 1904, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, U.S.A.
DIED: AUGUST 27, 1971, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A.
NATIONALITY: AMERICAN
Camera from the 1930s, similar to the model Margaret would have used for her early work
A SERIES OF FIRSTS
Margaret Bourke-White stood out as many things: the first U.S. female war photojournalist, the first Western photographer allowed to take pictures of Soviet industry, the first female photographer to work with the U.S. Armed Forces, and one of the first photographers of the hugely famous Life magazine. Her incredible photographs—of everything from the Great Depression and Mahatma Gandhi to the German concentration camps of Nazi Germany—remain iconic to this day.
Photography began as a hobby for Margaret, but she quickly realized that it was what she wanted to do with her life. Her early work was in architectural and industrial photography, and she became known for her originality. From there, Margaret’s career began to take shape. In 1930, she was hired to photograph an iron works factory in Soviet Germany, which quickly grew to a longer-term project documenting the industry and people of the Soviet Union. At this time, she also photographed the Dust Bowl and Great Depression in the American Midwest, as well as racial and class divides. In both of these projects, she had a great eye for capturing personal and social situations. Her work helped explain and share these difficult stories from around the globe. Her photograph of Montana’s Fort Peck Dam became the cover photograph of the very first issue of Life magazine, where she worked as its first female photojournalist (and one of only four staff photographers). Margaret documented World War II for Life magazine, as the first female photographer to work directly with the U.S. Armed Forces. She was the only foreign photographer in Moscow when German forces invaded. Her shocking photographs of the inmates of Nazi concentration camps were some of the first ever seen. After World War II, Margaret traveled to India and documented the work of the peace activist Mahatma Gandhi (incredibly, capturing an iconic portrait of him only hours before his assassination). She also recorded the extreme violence that broke out over the mass migration between India and Pakistan, known as the Partition. Her work was direct, and she was not afraid to show the horrors of war.
| FABULOUS FIRSTS | |
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FIRST FEMALE WAR PHOTOJOURNALIST |
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FIRST WESTERN PHOTOGRAPHER ALLOWED TO PHOTOGRAPH SOVIET INDUSTRY |
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FIRST FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHER TO WORK WITH THE US ARMED FORCES |
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PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE FIRST COVER OF LIFE MAGAZINE |
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| Iconic photograph by Margaret Bourke-White of women sewing American flags in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940 |
FEARLESS PHOTOGRAPHER
Margaret was not only an incredibly talented photographer, she was also fiercely brave. She knew that the stories around her needed to be told and shared with an audience, and she was never afraid to throw herself into any situation, however dangerous it might have been for her. Margaret’s influences on photography and photojournalism are monumental. Her iconic photographs are on public display around the world, such as at the Library of Congress, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.
JOSEPHINE BAKER PIONEERING PERFORMER AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
FULL NAME: Freda Josephine McDonald Baker
BORN: JUNE 3, 1906, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, U.S.A.
DIED: APRIL 12, 1975, PARIS, FRANCE
NATIONALITY: AMERICAN/FRENCH
HURRICANE JOSEPHINE
The world may not have been ready for Josephine Baker, but from the start she was ready to take on the world. Her impact was huge, from dance, music, and film to civil rights and war resistance. Josephine was the first black woman to become a world-famous entertainer, as well as an international entertainment and political icon.
Freda Josephine McDonald was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a washerwoman and a drummer. The family was poor, and Josephine grew up cleaning houses, babysitting, and waitressing to make ends meet. At the age of 15, she joined a variety show and soon moved to New York City. It was the early days of the Harlem Renaissance, an incredible artistic and social explosion of African-American arts in 1920s New York. Josephine was in the right place at the right time, and she quickly joined Broadway revues. However, she was rejected for larger roles for being “too skinny and too dark.” Undeterred, Josephine worked backstage and learned the routines. When a dancer left, Josephine was cast as the chorus line’s “last dancer,” a comic role in which the dancer “forgets” the routine before performing it perfectly at the end. With her impeccable comic timing, dancing talent, and stylish flair, Josephine was a hit.
A SUPER SPY IN A BANANA SKIRT
A move to Europe is really what allowed Josephine to shine. In Paris she became an overnight sensation for her now-famous Danse Sauvage. Wearing a feather skirt for that performance and an all-banana one for the next, Josephine performed with confidence and style, displaying movements that had never been seen before. Her career blossomed. She became one of the most photographed women in the world, and by 1927 she was the highest-paid entertainer in Europe. In the late 1930s, she starred in a number of movies and became the first black woman to star in a major film.
European success was incredible—but 1930s America was not ready for a black female celebrity with talent, success, and confidence. A brief 1936 U.S. tour was disastrous; the press called her terrible names. She quickly returned to Europe, just in the nick of time to make another massive contribution. World War II was starting, and Josephine supported France’s war effort in many ways. She raised morale by performing for troops, as well as smuggling secret messages on song sheets and acting as sub-lieutenant in the women’s air force. For her courage and contribution, Josephine was awarded the Medal of Resistance and named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor—very high praise from the French government.
MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
A political icon, Josephine returned to the U.S.A. in the 1950s and 1960s to support the Civil Rights Movement. While Europe was more cosmopolitan, racism was still rampant in mid-century America. Josephine toured the country, writing articles and performing. She refused to perform for segregated audiences, and this helped integrate many venues across the country. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) declared May 20 “Josephine Baker Day” for her contributions.