Josephine Baker to get a Florida historical marker in Miami Beach on Nov. 12

Josephine Baker, the entertainer who refused to perform for a segregated audience on Miami Beach in 1951, will be honored with a Florida historical marker in a public ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park, 18th Street and Purdy Avenue, in Sunset Harbour.

The city announced the ceremony on X on Saturday with an invitation from the Miami Beach Commission for Women, the city advisory board presenting it. The post calls Baker an internationally celebrated entertainer, civil rights advocate and “pioneering opponent of racial segregation.” The invitation lists the park’s address as 1700 Purdy Ave. It does not give the marker’s text or say who will speak, and Red Sidewalks has not independently confirmed further details.

Baker’s tie to the city goes back to January 1951. According to a 2021 Artburst Miami report published by WLRN, the Copa City Club at first rejected her demand that Black guests be admitted, at a time when Miami was still segregated. She held firm, and on Jan. 10, 1951, she became the first known entertainer to perform at a prominent Miami Beach club before an integrated audience. In 2021 the city declared Nov. 28 Josephine Baker Day.

The city’s post invites the community to attend; it does not mention a cost or registration. Maurice Gibb Memorial Park is open from sunrise to sunset, according to the city’s parks directory.