Steakless at the Stork Club: Josephine Baker’s Showdown with Respectability
The Night They Refused to Serve Her
In October 1951, Josephine Baker entered New York’s elite Stork Club expecting dinner. She left with something else: a public insult that would unravel her U.S. tour and expose the nation’s contradictions. Baker, recently celebrated as the “Best Dressed Woman of 1951,” had spent the year touring, performing, and speaking out against segregation. That night, she joined French singer Roger Rico, his wife, and former showgirl-turned-politician Bessie Buchanan for a late dinner.
They were seated, orders were taken, and then—nothing. After more than an hour, Baker’s food still hadn’t arrived. The waiter returned not with steak or wine, but excuses: no steak, no crab, no bottle. Everyone else had been served. “It was just silence,” Baker later said.
Calling for Justice in Real Time
Frustrated and humiliated, Baker left the table and called Billy Rowe, the only Black deputy police commissioner in New York. She also contacted the NAACP and prepared a formal complaint, citing violations of the state Civil Rights Act and Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. When she returned to the table, the steak had finally “appeared.” Baker refused it. “I have no intention of suffering deliberate humiliation without striking back,” she declared.
The next day, she was in the papers. “This is a terrible experience… It is a snub to my color, to my people. I’m doing something about it—not for Josephine Baker. I’m doing it for America,” she told The Milwaukee Journal.
Winchell’s Silence, Then Retaliation
Walter Winchell, the powerful gossip columnist and longtime friend of the Stork Club’s owner, was also there that night. He and Baker exchanged pleasantries earlier in the evening, but when she was being ignored, he said nothing. Baker named him as a witness who failed to act. Winchell retaliated hard.
In a series of columns and broadcasts, he smeared her character, dredged up a years-old quote praising Mussolini, questioned her patriotism, and mocked her war record. He dubbed her “Josey-Phoney Baker,” accused her of Communist sympathies, and repeated rumors tying her to the Paul Robeson Peekskill riots. Her scheduled shows were canceled. U.S. media outlets distanced themselves. The FBI kept tabs on her. And by November, her tour collapsed.
The Movement That Followed
Baker didn’t back down. She filed a police report. The NAACP led picket lines outside the Stork Club, and Executive Secretary Walter White called on the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover to take action. Hoover refused, stating, “I don’t consider this to be any of my business.”
Despite the backlash, Baker stood firm: “If I have to leave the country, I will leave with my own dignity and the dignity of my race intact.” By the end of that year, she did exactly that—departing for South America after what should have been a triumphant return to American soil turned into a cautionary tale.
What the Steak Really Cost
Josephine Baker wasn’t just denied a meal—she was denied the illusion that fame could ever protect a Black woman from racism in America. Her refusal to stay silent wasn’t performative. It was personal, political, and prophetic. She had performed for kings and spied for the Allies, but at the Stork Club, she was reminded that dignity still had to be demanded.
And when they finally brought the steak out, she didn’t eat it. She left.
Further Reading:
Caravantes, Peggy. The Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy. Chicago Review Press, 2015.
Haney, Lynn. Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker. Dutton, 1981.
Jet Magazine. “Jo Baker Snubbed at Stork Club.” November 1951.
Associated Press. “Josephine Baker Says Stork Club Prejudiced.” October 1951.
The Milwaukee Journal. Josephine Baker quote, October 1951.
Chicago Defender. “Josephine Baker: I’m Willing to Sacrifice My Career.” 1951.
Pittsburgh Courier. Editorial coverage of the Stork Club incident, November 1951.