You must get an education. You must go to school, and you must

The radiant star and fearless activist Josephine Baker, a woman whose voice and courage transcended nations, once declared: “You must get an education. You must go to school, and you must learn to protect yourself. And you must learn to protect yourself with the pen, and not the gun.” In these words lies a wisdom forged from both struggle and triumph—a message to all generations that the truest form of power does not come from violence, but from knowledge. Baker’s words are not merely a plea for learning; they are a commandment for liberation, a call to arms where the weapon is wisdom, and the victory is dignity.

To understand the fire behind her words, we must look to the woman herself. Born in the shadow of poverty in segregated America, Josephine Baker rose from the streets of St. Louis to become one of the most celebrated performers in the world. Yet behind the feathers and the stage lights burned a warrior’s spirit. She lived through the age of racial injustice, when ignorance sought to chain both mind and body. Baker fled to France, where she found freedom and respect denied to her in her homeland, and there she used her fame to fight for justice. During World War II, she served as a spy for the French Resistance, carrying secret messages in her sheet music. Later, she marched with Martin Luther King Jr., lending her voice to the dream of equality. Thus, when she spoke of the