A Brief Biography Of Phyllis Rose By Phyllis Rose

With her immense colorful performances, creative costumes, and distinctive singing voice, she blended right in during the “jazz baby” movement. Born in St. Louis, Missouri to Carrie McDonald. Carrie’s parents had been adopted by parents who were victims of the slave trade and of African descent. Josephine’s father had rumored to be drummer Eddie Carson, but it was never clarified nor denied. At an early age of 8, Josephine was put to work. She did not have an easy time at work, she was frightened and hostile. While at work she experienced bullying and abuse from one of her employees who would injure her for not completing her chores correctly. After a brutal and bloody riot that she witnessed in her city of St. Louis, Josephine packed her belongings and left for good. She went many night without shelter and food, and in desperation for survival she looked to performing street dances. The street dances paid off and she was recruited to play on the chorus line in St. Louis

Baker was one who believed that there were other ways to be heard without fighting, she came across tough obstacles that she could have easily given up on but remained strong and fought through them all. You never knew what her next move would be and from her biography written by author Phyllis Rose, she expresses that "Her movements were all so fast no one had time to decide what was happening. 'Is it a man? Is it a woman?' people wondered. Is she awful or marvelous? Black or white? Is that real hair or has it been painted on? She epitomized ambiguity, new frontiers. She seemed something more fugitive and extravagant than a dancer - more like ectoplasm. She was a revelation of possibilities in human nature they hadn't suspected. The animal inside of every human being wasn't dark, tormented, savage. It was good-natured, lively, sexy rather than sensual, above all funny." (Rose,