Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, France, July 5, 1959: Josephine Baker, her husband Jo (Joe) Bouillon and several of their ten adopted children at their home of Les Milandes in the Dordogne Valley.

Baker has come out of retirement to support her children and rebuild the manor and village around it so it can welcome visitors. “The children were adopted for a reason, and one so simple that most people can’t believe it,” Baker said in an interview with Stars and Stripes, published July 29, 1959. She calls her family the “Rainbow Tribe.”

“People can’t believe until they see for themselves that human beings of every race, color and creed can live together as brothers. That is why we have rebuilt the village and established its attractions — so that people. will come from everywhere to see the children.”

See additional images of the family and the estate, and read the full 1959 article here.

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