If you’re like me, growing up in school you probably never heard the name Ella Josephine Baker. If by chance you received a more enlightened education—congratulations but please don’t try to come for the rest of us. Thank you. Most Civil Rights discussions include name drops such Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, John Lewis—just to name a few. But did you know that without Ms. Ella Jo Baker, the Civil Rights movement might not have shaped up quite the way it did?
Ella Josephine Baker was born on December 13, 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia. She grew up with her family in rural North Carolina where she heard stories of her grandmother’s enslaved years. Undoubtedly, this is what gave birth to her strong sense of social and racial justice. Sidenote—her grandparents bought part of the plantation on which they were once enslaved. Talk about turning your trial into your victory. And in case you were wondering, Ella’s grandparents went on to become successful farmers. Take that colonizers.
Fortified with a desire to see justice, Ms. Baker went on to attend Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. During her tenure, she challenged school policies she felt were unjust—setting the tone for her adult years. After graduating valedictorian, she moved to New York and began to go to work.
Surrounded by the harsh realities of the Great Depression, Ms. Baker joined the Young Negroes’ Cooperative League (YNCL)—whose mission was to pool economic resources into community cooperatives and educate the community of the benefits of cooperatives. She was appointed Executive Director of YNCL by founder, George Schuyler, and later became the National Director of the organization. Her work with YNCL led to a scholarship from the Cooperative League of America to attend Brookwood Labor College.
In the years that followed, Ella worked for the National Association for Consumers and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). During her time with the NAACP, Ella served as a field secretary and later as National Director of branches. She worked with local leaders and spearheaded grassroots initiatives to change the culture and image of the organization. After she stepped down as the National Director, she continued her work with the NAACP as the president of the New York branch. As president, she worked to end school segregation and improve education for black students.
Following Brown vs Board of Education, Ella along with Bayard Rustin, A. Phillip Randolph, and Stanley Levison formed the organization, In Friendship. The mission of the organization was to garner financial support for the desegregation of Southern schools, aid victims of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and other civil rights initiatives. To support its mission, In Friendship held fundraising events to help cover legal fees and purchase new cars for carpooling during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Inspired by her connections and knowledge of grassroots efforts across the South, Ella believed that the black church in the South should help lead and organize the desegregation movement. Her idea was well received and led to the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was chosen as the president of SCLC, it was Ella Baker, director—although they gave her the title of executive secretary because she was a female, a topic for a whole other conversation—who was responsible for the shaping of the organization’s agenda. For two years and a half years, Ella used her contacts and knowledge of grassroots efforts to plan events and establish protests and campaigns. Her main project was the Crusade for Citizenship—an initiative that aimed to educate blacks about voter rights and voter registration.
Full transparency—the relationship between Dr. King and Ella Baker wasn’t the best. In fact, it has been described as quite tense, mostly due to the fact that Dr. King struggled to yield to her leadership because she was a woman (again, a conversation for another day). Despite the tension, Ella continued to carry out her purpose in the SCLC. During the final months of her tenure, her work with the student sit-ins exploded into the mainstream. She convinced the SCLC to lead these demonstrations and provide organization to the sit-ins across the South. This led to the creation of the Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)—the organization that helped establish the 1961 Freedom Rides.
It’s a wonder that Ella Baker doesn’t get more recognition for her role in the Civil Rights movement. Her strategy and organizational skills were a catalyst for a major shift in Black history in America—yet she’s rarely mentioned. Ella Baker’s life is a testament that not all heroes live in the spotlight. She did her work behind the scenes and she never sought recognition. But I believe the time has come to place her name beside the men she worked alongside and give her the credit her life and legacy deserve.
