Ella Baker | Celebrating Historical Black Figures

In celebrating Black History Month, we at GoodTrust want to honor the sacrifices and stories of African-Americans who fought for equality with their entire lives. Black History Month rightfully celebrates heroes like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and many others who changed history. In this article series, we would like to also bring attention to lesser-known African-Americans who had an immense impact on the equality movement and the future of the United States to ensure their legacy lives on.

Throughout her years, Ella Baker was a major behind-the-scenes force in shaping the civil right movement and a key organizer with Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Ella Josephine Baker was born on Dec. 13 in 1903 in Norfolk, VA, to Georgiana and Blake Baker. In 1910, a race riot occurred in Norfolk, killing several African-American workers in the process. This was when her mother decided to take her and her siblings to North Carolina. Growing up Ella Baker was able to listen to hear grandmas stories as a slave and learned about the social injustice that existed in the U.S. Being an intelligent young woman with a strong will, Baker attended Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

After graduating as the class valedictorian in 1927, Baker moved to New York where she joined the Young Negroes Cooperative League. The league allowed members to unite their funds to get good deals on groceries and other products. She soon became the national director of the league. In the 1940s, Baker became the field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, recruiting members and raising funds. She also helped co-found an organization that raised money to fight laws that were put in place by Jim Crow.

In 1957, Baker played a major role in organizing the launch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Martin Luther King Jr. During her time as an executive director in the Atlanta office she was often facing obstacles with her male coworkers who she disagreed with. During her time under King she created an event that led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee that organized nonviolent protests. 

Ella Baker is remembered as a strong-willed, intellectual Black hero and civil rights activist. Her achievements are honored in the Ella Baker Center that shifts resources to Black, Brown, and low-income people. 

Here at GoodTrust we would like to honor Ella Baker and her legacy with this article. Her memory was animated with GoodTrust Memories. You can create your own animation here. 

Happy Black History Month!