American-born singer and activist Josephine Baker became the first American and first Black woman to receive France’s highest honor on Tuesday. Baker became a French citizen in 1937 after marrying a French man. Baker was honored at a ceremony outside the Pantheon in France. The Pantheon is a building that has the remains of famous French people, including Marie Curie, Victor Hugo and Voltaire. Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. She moved to Paris in 1925 to get away from racism and segregation in the United States. She was famous around the world as a singer in the 1930s. But she also became known for joining the resistance to Nazi Germany in France during World War II. Later, she supported the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. She spoke at the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Earlier in 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron decided to honor Baker because she was an “exceptional figure” who “embodies the French spirit.”