Shedding Light on Ella Baker
News: History
"Give light and people will find the way." Ella Baker's own words show why her contributions to the civil rights movement were so important. They also explain why many Americans have never heard of her. For more than 50 years, this tireless activist organized, demonstrated, and advocated for equality for Black Americans. She worked alongside famous figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis. However, she often operated behind the scenes. Her goal was to empower those who'd been overlooked.
"You didn't see me on television; you didn't see news stories about me," Baker explained. "My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders."
The power and potential of everyday people was something Ella Josephine Baker understood from an early age. Born in 1903, she grew up in rural North Carolina. The farmland her family owned had once been part of the plantation where her grandparents had been enslaved. Hearing her grandmother's heartbreaking but heroic accounts of staying strong during enslavement instilled in Baker a deep sense of social justice.
Baker graduated first in her class at Shaw University in 1927 before moving to New York City. There, she worked for groups devoted to racial and economic equality. In 1941, she became a field secretary for the NAACP. She traveled throughout the South to build awareness about civil rights and recruit new members. Baker favored listening over lecturing and local action over grand strategy. She also had an outstanding ability to connect with individuals. She helped Black citizens in the segregated South recognize their self-worth. She inspired many of them to join the struggle for justice.
In 1957, Baker moved to Atlanta and helped found the SCLC. This organization was committed to ending segregation and discrimination through nonviolent protest. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was its president while Baker served as its executive director. She was largely responsible for organizing and managing its efforts.
Baker, though, was happy to see others take the lead. "I have always thought what is needed is the development of people who are interested not in being leaders as much as in developing leadership among other people," she once said. In 1960, for example, a group of Black college students refused to leave a "Whites-only" lunch counter in North Carolina. Afterward, Baker was eager to help the emerging student movement. She encouraged them to form their own organization. They became the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC (often pronounced "SNICK").
Baker confined herself to the role of guide and counselor for SNCC. When members sought her advice, she was likely to answer with thought-provoking questions, rather than tell them what to do. SNCC soon became an important force for change. Its members educated Black Americans in rural areas. They also defended voting rights and battled discrimination.
Baker died in 1986, but her lessons live on. She was known by the nickname Fundi. In the East African language Swahili, the word refers to a person who hands down knowledge to the next generation. As Baker herself once said, "The struggle is eternal." But by teaching new leaders, she was sure that "Somebody else carries on."
Think about how Baker sought to help people be powerful. Whom did she help, and how? Cite evidence from the article to support your response.
