On Josephine
On November 30th, 2021, France interred Josephine Baker in the Panthéon, making her the first Black and first Franco-American woman to receive the honor. As a Résistance fighter and a Civil Rights agent who exuded creativity and confidence, Josephine embodied the best of both French and American values. At a tense moment in the transatlantic friendship, it was also a strong showing of goodwill and a picture perfect moment for President Emmanuel Macron to say, "Ma France, c’est Joséphine."
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Here's how we told her story.
Bringing a Legend to Life
As with every campaign, we took the storytelling aspect very seriously. Months before the campaign began, I worked with my diplomat colleagues and the consulates to construct a posting and events calendar to best teach our American audience about Josephine while honoring French messaging and values.
Letting Others Introduce Josephine
One of our goals at the Embassy is to continually better our engagement with both French and American agents. This ceremony that celebrated a most colorful and vivacious woman led me to contact artists on both sides of the Atlantic. The week of the ceremony, we shone a light on extremely talented individuals.
A Monument to Greatness
Aside from artists, I also had the opportunity to communicate with both the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower communications teams.
From the French Capital
Lastly, we transmitted the Panthéonisation live from Paris and provided timely updates and translations from French government sources like the Elysée and the Quai d'Orsay.
